Why is Bitcoin down today? BTC crashes below $68,000 amid mass liquidations
Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday for the first time since August as forced selling in leveraged trades intensified a decline driven by US inflation fears and withdrawals from exchange-traded funds.The cryptocurrency traded at $69,227 at 11:53 GMT, down 5% from the same time on Thursday, according to Yahoo Finance data. It earlier touched about $67,627 before recovering some ground.Ethereum also slipped below $2,000, while Solana and XRP weakened. Bitcoin was heading for a sixth consecutive weekly loss, showing how quickly confidence has faded since its October 2025 peak.Why Bitcoin price is falling today?The fall accelerated when Bitcoin breached $70,000, a level where traders had accumulated leveraged bets on rising prices.CoinGlass figures showed $1.47 billion in cryptocurrency positions liquidated over 24 hours early Friday. Bullish positions accounted for $1.31 billion, making forced long selling the dominant source of pressure.A separate CoinDesk snapshot put Bitcoin-specific liquidations at roughly $677 million. The totals reflect different observation times, not additional losses to be added together.Sean McNulty, a derivatives trader at AQC Tech, explained in comments published by Bloomberg that crossing $70,000 triggered automatic closures of heavily leveraged positions, accelerating the decline.When exchanges close losing positions to recover borrowed funds, selling can spread even without fresh negative news. Thin order books magnify that effect.Inflation and ETF withdrawals deepen the pressureTuesday's US inflation figures added to the strain. Headline consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, while core prices climbed 0.3%, both above forecasts.The stronger reading reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in December, supporting the dollar and reducing appetite for speculative assets.Rich Rosenblum, co-founder of crypto market maker GSR, told Bloomberg that a firmer dollar and turbulence in artificial intelligence stocks had hit bullish Bitcoin trades. Nvidia's management upheaval added to broader unease.Institutional flows have also weakened. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $643.6 million in net withdrawals this week through Thursday, as per SoSoValue data. Year-to-date net flows have turned negative by $1.56 billion.Those redemptions complicate a rebound because new buyers must absorb ordinary selling alongside continued fund withdrawals.Can Bitcoin defend $67,500 before the Fed's next test?The area around $67,500 is now a near-term reference after Friday's low. Bitcoin also briefly slipped beneath its 200-week moving average near $68,000, a widely watched longer-term trend gauge.Keith Alan, co-founder of Material Indicators, warned in analysis reported by Cointelegraph that a further deterioration in weekly momentum could bring much lower levels into view.A move back above $70,000 could ease immediate pressure; a sustained fall below $67,500 would instead expose the $65,000 area.Traders await Friday's US producer-price report and December's Fed decision. MSCI's scheduled removal of Strategy from its indexes on 30 November is another potential source of volatility.Readers exploring how to buy Bitcoin or comparing the best crypto exchanges should distinguish ordinary spot purchases from leveraged trading, where losses can accelerate rapidly.AI disclosure: AI tools assisted with research and drafting of this piece. An Invezz editor reviewed the facts, sources and wording before publication. Any opinions or analysis are Invezz’s, not those of an automated system.