Bitcoin took a sharp hit Thursday, dropping 4% in the last 24 hours and pushing toward the $64,000 mark. The move triggered nearly $1 billion in crypto liquidations across exchanges, according to data tracked by CoinGlass. It's the biggest single-day wipeout for leveraged traders in weeks, and the $64,000 level—a well-watched psychological threshold—is suddenly back in play.
The $64,000 Line
The number itself isn't much more than a round figure, but it's one traders fixate on. Break below it and the next support zone isn't clearly defined until the low $60,000s. Hold it, and Bitcoin might just consolidate before making another run. Right now, the market is treating it like a line in the sand.
Volume picked up noticeably during the drop. That suggests the selling wasn't a flash crash—it had real weight behind it. Whether that weight comes from profit-taking after a strong May or something more structural isn't clear, but the speed caught plenty of longs off guard.
Liquidations Pile Up
The liquidation figure—roughly $920 million across all crypto assets—was dominated by long positions. Bitcoin alone accounted for about $350 million of that total. When leverage unwinds this fast, it tends to feed on itself: forced selling drives prices lower, which triggers more liquidations.
By late Thursday, some recovery was visible, but the damage was done. Traders who had been piling into levered bets in recent days got washed out. The question now is whether the cleanup is over or if more pain is coming.
For now, all eyes are on $64,000. If it breaks, the conversation changes. If it holds, this might just be another shakeout in a market that never stays quiet for long.
