Bitcoin fell below $70,000 as the sell-off continued and pessimism grew

Bitcoin It sank below $70,000 on Thursday as investors lost faith in the asset, once considered “digital gold” and a unique store of value.

Digital assets, including bitcoin, have plunged deeper into the red as investors reassess the token’s practical utility not only as a hedge against inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty, but also as an alternative to traditional safe-havens like fiat currencies and gold.

Since bitcoin reached just north of $126,000 in early October, it hasn’t been out recently.

On Thursday, Bitcoin fell as low as $69,055.46, the first time since November 2024 that it fell below $70,000.

“In our view this steady sell-off signals that traditional investors are losing interest and overall pessimism about crypto is growing,” Deutsche Bank analyst Marion Labore said in a note to clients on Wednesday.

Investors are increasingly cautious as many of the sensational claims about bitcoin fail to materialize. The token has traded largely like other risk-averse assets, such as stocks, especially during the recent geopolitical and macroeconomic upheaval in Venezuela, the Middle East and Europe, and its adoption as a form of payment for goods and services has been minimal.

Bitcoin underperforms gold

Bitcoin is down nearly 29% over the past year, while gold is up 69% over the same period.

Losses have compounded this week, with the flagship cryptocurrency down roughly 17% over the past five days, its worst week since November 11, 2022, when it fell 21%.

Other cryptocurrencies are also cratering. Ether has pulled back 23% this week, also for its worst week since November 2022, when it fell 24%. Solana hit $88.42 on Thursday, a nearly two-year low and down 24% on the week.

Some market observers have suggested $70,000 is the critical level A break below that to watch could lead to further downside for Bitcoin.

James Butterfill, head of research at Coinshares, said that $70,000 is shaping up to be a “key psychological level”, adding that “if we fail to hold it, we’re likely to move towards the $60,000 to $65,000 range”.

Following is the latest movement in Bitcoin Selling off in US tech stocks Which is filtered by cryptocurrency. The State Road Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF It fell 2.8% on Wednesday, a day after losing 2.2%.

Meanwhile, precious metals Continue to be very volatile, wSilver fell again on Thursday and gold under pressure.

Forced liquidations — where traders’ positions are automatically sold when bitcoin hits a set price — continue to weigh on the market. As of Thursday, more than $2 billion in long and short positions in cryptocurrencies had been liquidated this week, according to CoinGlass data.

Bitcoin has been falling steadily for over three months and is now down 45% from its October high. Including other cryptocurrencies Ether And XRPhave fallen further.

“(The) straight-line bull run that a lot of people expected hasn’t materialized yet. Bitcoin is no longer trading on hype, the story has lost a bit of that narrative, it’s trading on pure liquidity and capital flows,” Maja Vujinovic, CEO of digital assets at FG Nexus told CNBC “Global exchange.”

Institutional demand reverses

While many in the crypto market previously credited large institutional investors with supporting Bitcoin’s price, the same participants now appear to be selling.

“Institutional demand has materially reversed,” CryptoQuant said in a report on Wednesday.

US exchange traded funds, which bought 46,000 bitcoins this time last year, are net sellers in 2026, CryptoQuant said.

The report noted other alarming signs. “Bitcoin has broken below its 365-day moving average for the first time since March 2022 and is down 23% in the 83 days since the breakdown – worse than the early 2022 bear phase,” CryptoQuant analysts said.

A moving average tracks the price of an asset over a period of time, making short-term price fluctuations easier to identify trends.

The latest leg low in bitcoin “suggests potential downside towards the $70K–$60K range,” CryptoQuant said.