Bitcoin briefly plunged below $62,000 during Asian trading hours Thursday, triggering over $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto liquidations within 24 hours. More than 208,000 traders were liquidated, with bitcoin positions accounting for over $800 million and ether positions for another $386 million.
The selloff coincided with continued institutional weakness. Investors pulled approximately $1 billion from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs this week, extending a record streak of net outflows.
According to Presto Research, bitcoin's decline reflects competition for investor capital. Major drawdowns this year have coincided with rallies in gold and artificial intelligence stocks as markets scale back expectations for Fed rate cuts. Analysts suggest a rebound may depend on easing inflation concerns and renewed demand for liquidity-sensitive assets rather than any crypto-specific catalyst.