Bitcoin bounced off its lows on Friday after threatening to fall below the key $60,000 mark, but some market commentators suggested there’s more selling to come. Late on Thursday, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency fell below $61,000 and hovered just above the $60,000 mark. As of 4:54 a.m. ET on Friday, Bitcoin was recovering slightly, trading at $66,015. A number of factors have contributed to the bitcoin bear market, which began after bitcoin hit a record high above $126,000 in October.
The sell-off comes amid a continued drop in tech stocks in the U.S. Bitcoin has often been correlated with risk assets like tech stocks in the U.S. and fall when they do. Forced liquidations — when traders’ positions are automatically sold as bitcoin hits a set price — continue to push the crypto market lower. On Thursday, there were more than $2 billion worth of long and short positions on crypto that were liquidated, according to Coinglass data.
That figure was almost $800 million on Friday. Meanwhile, there are signs that large institutional investors are selling their holdings. Institutional investors are really unwinding their cryptocurrency holdings, Markus Thielen, head of research at 10X Research, told CNBC’s “Access Middle East.” Thielen said that the average price people paid for bitcoin via an ETF is $90,000, and those investors are materially in losses now.
These large outflows are occurring during U.S. trading hours with those investors throwing in the towel, he added. Bitcoin now sits more than 40% off its all-time high. Ether and XRP are more than 60% lower than their record highs, while Solana is off by more than 70%. Analyst warns Bitcoin could plunge to $50,000.
10X Research estimates bitcoin could go as low as $50,000, after a potential small bounce soon, Thielen said. I think we are going to have a little counter-trend rally that might go sideways or bounce a little bit, Thielen said. But I think during the summer we make another low., Bitcoin bounced off its lows on Friday after threatening to fall below the key $60,000 mark, with the asset trading around $66,015 as of 4:54 a.m. ET.
Late Thursday, it slipped below $61,000 and hovered near the $60,000 level, underscoring ongoing volatility. The bear market remains in focus after Bitcoin’s October record above $126,000, as a pullback coincides with a broader tech stock sell-off in the United States. Forced liquidations continue to push the crypto market lower, as traders’ positions are automatically liquidated when Bitcoin hits preset prices.
Coinglass data show more than $2 billion in long and short liquidations on Thursday, with the figure near $800 million on Friday. Separately, there are signs that large institutional investors are selling their holdings, with analysts noting meaningful ETF-related losses and substantial outflows during U.S. trading hours. Bitcoin is now more than 40% off its all-time high, while Ether and XRP are down over 60% and Solana down by more than 70%. Analysts warn that Bitcoin could plunge toward $50,000, with 10X Research estimating a potential low around $50,000 after a possible small bounce. A counter-trend rally may occur, but expectations point to another low later in the summer.
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