BTC Faces Pressure After $540M in 24-Hour Liquidations
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly surged from $86,000 to an intraday high of $90,165 on Wednesday before settling around $86,612at the time of writing. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been oscillating within the $82,000–$95,000 range for over a month, showing no clear directional trend. BTC currently trades 31.3% below its all-time high reached in October this year.
“Bitcoin price has remained under pressure due to massive liquidation events across the crypto market,” according to recent data from crypto.news.
Market Liquidations and Investor Sentiment
The crypto market continues to feel the effects of large-scale liquidations, with over $540 million liquidated in the past 24 hours, including $160 million in Bitcoin alone, according to Coinglass. These events stem from earlier $19 billion liquidations in October, triggered by a sudden escalation in U.S.–China tariffs, which amplified forced selling through stop-losses and margin calls.
Institutional interest in Bitcoin has also weakened. Data from SoSoValue shows U.S. BTC ETFs recorded only $21.36 million in net inflows in December, following nearly $3.5 billion in outflows in November. This contrasts sharply with the strong inflows observed in previous months.
Recent macroeconomic developments, such as the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on rate cuts and losses in AI-linked tech stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom, have further increased risk-off sentiment. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index currently indicates “Extreme Fear” across the market.
Technical Indicators Signal Bearish Pressure
On the daily chart, Bitcoin has been forming an inverse cup and handle pattern since mid-April, typically a bearish continuation signal if the price breaks below the neckline. Additionally, BTC trades below major moving averages, with short-term averages under long-term ones, reinforcing the downward momentum.
The Aroon indicator shows the Aroon Down at 78.5% versus Aroon Up at 35.7%, confirming bearish dominance. Based on current technicals, Bitcoin may test its April low of $76,400, down roughly 11.7% from today’s level.
