Bitcoin breaks $80,000 as sell-off deepens
Bitcoin posted its steepest daily decline in roughly nine months, sliding more than 10% over 24 hours and briefly touching $75,700. The drop pushed the price below $80,000 for the first time since April 2025 and extended a correction that has dominated risk assets since late 2025. From the October peak near $126,000, bitcoin has now fallen by more than 35%.The move erased about $111 billion in crypto market value in a single day and triggered a wave of forced deleveraging. Liquidations across major venues were estimated at $2.53 billion, with roughly $2.41 billion tied to long positions as bullish bets were closed automatically. CoinDesk reported that traders said a rally linked to heavy corporate buying had run out of incremental buyers, leaving prices vulnerable once selling started.
Liquidations and leverage unwind spread the shock
The dominance of long liquidations suggested positioning was still tilted toward a rebound even as momentum weakened. Once bitcoin slipped under $80,000, a series of stop orders and risk limits pushed more accounts into forced closures, accelerating the fall. That dynamic can create a feedback loop in derivatives markets, where falling prices reduce collateral and trigger more selling.Liquidation totals can overstate directional conviction because they reflect forced position closures rather than discretionary selling alone. Still, the size of the long flush signaled that leverage was concentrated on one side of the market, and that imbalance can deepen drawdowns when support levels fail. Traders said the fast move also reflected how quickly liquidity can thin during volatile sessions.
The sell-off quickly spilled into the largest alternative tokens, reinforcing the sense of a broad risk reset rather than an isolated bitcoin event. Ethereum dropped about 13% on the day, Solana fell roughly 14%, and XRP declined around 10% as traders cut exposure across majors. Market participants said correlation tightened during the stress, with most liquid assets being sold first to meet margin and reduce leverage.
Strategy draws scrutiny as its average cost comes into view
Attention focused on Strategy and its founder Michael Saylor because the company remains one of the biggest corporate bitcoin holders. Strategy holds 712,647 BTC at an average purchase price of about $76,037 per coin, meaning the position moved into paper losses as prices traded around and below that level. The drawdown revived questions about whether corporate treasuries could become sellers in a prolonged downturn.Analysts said near-term forced selling risks appear limited due to how the company is funded. Much of Strategy's roughly $8.2 billion in debt is in convertible notes with maturities stretching from 2027 to 2032, a structure that typically does not create the margin-call mechanics seen in leveraged trading accounts. As a result, the market focus has shifted from immediate solvency fears to longer-run sentiment, funding conditions, and whether buyers return at lower levels.
Capital inflows stall as ETF redemptions weigh on demand
On-chain signals added to concern that the market is not attracting fresh capital at the pace seen earlier in the cycle. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said bitcoin's Realized Cap, a proxy for net capital entering the network, has stopped growing for the first time in about 2.5 years. He also pointed to long-term holders taking profits at roughly 12,000 BTC per day, suggesting distribution has continued even as prices weaken.Flow data from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds has reinforced that picture. Reported net outflows for November and December 2025 totaled about $4.57 billion, one of the weakest stretches since US-listed spot products launched. Persistent redemptions can add selling pressure when authorized participants unwind holdings, while also signaling that some institutions are reducing exposure rather than adding to dips.
Even with the sharp drop, some analysts do not expect a classic 70% capitulation similar to earlier bear cycles. Ki Young Ju argued that the market structure has changed, with institutions that can hold through volatility and products like ETFs potentially creating a stronger floor than in prior cycles. In that view, a prolonged sideways phase could be more likely than a rapid collapse if macro conditions remain restrictive.
For a sustained recovery, traders said the market will likely need either clearer expectations of easier US monetary policy or a renewed influx of capital into bitcoin. Until then, volatility may stay elevated as participants reassess leverage and risk appetite around the $80,000 level and the mid-$70,000s. The next weeks may determine whether the sell-off becomes a base-building phase or an extension of the downtrend.
Editorial Team - CoinBotLab
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