Bitcoin Falls To Lowest Since June As Risk-Off Mood Hits Crypto

Bitcoin has wiped out its summer rally, giving back gains made during Wall Street’s euphoric embrace and a surge in institutional buying.

The original cryptocurrency fell as much as 3.1% to $103,539 as on Tuesday morning in New York, the lowest level since June 23. Ether slipped as much as 3.9% and several so-called altcoins posted similar declines, bringing losses for many of the tokens to more than 50% this year. 

The turning point came in mid-October, when a brutal wave of liquidations wiped out more billions in bullish positions. Since then, traders have stayed on the sidelines. Open interest in Bitcoin futures remains far below pre-crash levels, and even with funding costs turning favorable, few are willing to re-enter. The result: Bitcoin is up just over 10% this year, lagging equities and once again falling short as a portfolio hedge.

“Bitcoin’s decline to the June lows reflects a market structure still grappling with the psychological overhang from October’s massive liquidation event, which has fundamentally altered how participants engage with the prevailing downtrend,” said Chris Newhouse, director of research at Ergonia, a firm specializing in decentralized finance.

Indicative of the tepid trading environment, less than $500 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in the futures market during Tuesday’s downturn, according to data compiled by Coinglass. About $1.2 billion were liquidated on Monday. That’s a significant decline from the record of around $19 billion wiped out on Oct. 10. 

In the meantime, options traders have built substantial hedges against further downside, with put contracts expiring in late November with the strike price of $80,000 seeing the most demand, according to crypto exchange Deribit by Coinbase.    

Bicton’s slide mirrors the reversal in high-flying tech stocks this week, with AI names like Palantir and Nvidia tumbling amid fresh doubts about stretched valuations. Bitcoin, often seen as a proxy for speculative momentum, is once again falling in step with equity sentiment.

Cryptocurrencies face several headwinds, including outflows from exchange-traded funds and concerns about potential selling by digital-asset treasury firms. A further retreat for Bitcoin would bring investor focus to the closely-watched $100,000 level, which it only briefly breached in mid-June.

“While the longer-term directional bias remains clearly bearish, the severity of October’s liquidations has prevented traders from maintaining sustained short positions with conviction, resulting in a market dominated by tactical, short-term momentum trades rather than committed directional exposure,” said Newhouse.