Bitcoin fell below $70,000 for the first time since April 7 on Wednesday, tumbling nearly 5% to around $69,400 in a sharp sell-off that liquidated more than $800 million in leveraged positions across centralized exchanges. The rout — heavily concentrated in long bets — hit Bitcoin hardest, with $445 million in BTC contracts wiped out, over 95% of them longs. Ethereum, by contrast, lost just 0.7%, underscoring a rare divergence between the two largest cryptocurrencies.
The liquidation cascade
Total liquidations in the last 24 hours exceeded $800 million. Long positions made up more than $689 million of that, roughly 85% of the total. Bitcoin alone accounted for more than half of all liquidations. Ethereum had the second-highest tally at $91 million. The wave of forced selling suggests leverage had built up heavily on the long side ahead of the move, and the abrupt break below $70,000 caught many traders off guard.
Most altcoins actually lost less than Bitcoin during the window, a pattern that sometimes points to a Bitcoin-specific catalyst rather than a broad market fear event.
Strategy's rare sale
The sell-off may have been triggered in part by a rare sale from Strategy — formerly MicroStrategy — the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The company didn't disclose the size or timing of the sale, but the move was unusual for a firm that has built its reputation on accumulating and holding BTC. Market participants were left to parse whether the transaction signaled a shift in corporate treasury strategy or was simply a one-off portfolio adjustment.
In contrast, Bitmine — often described as the Ethereum equivalent of Strategy — announced a fresh acquisition of ETH on the same day. The timing isn't great: while Bitmine is doubling down on Ether, the broader market is watching to see whether Bitcoin's slide pulls ETH lower in the coming days.
For now, Bitcoin is hovering just above $69,000, a level that hasn't been tested since early April. With the majority of longs already flushed, the immediate selling pressure may ease — but the uncertainty around Strategy's motives and the resilience of Ethereum's relative strength leaves traders guessing about the next leg. No major economic data is due until Friday, so crypto markets will be left to their own devices for the rest of the week.
