Bitcoin plunges below $68K as market selloff triggers over $1B in liquidations

Bitcoin fell below $68,000 on Tuesday morning, extending a month long decline that has erased much of its May rebound and triggered more than $1 billion in crypto liquidations, according to CoinGlass data.

The largest crypto asset by market value dropped more than 5% over the past 24 hours and was trading near $67,200 at press time, its lowest level in about a month. Bitcoin has been under pressure since reaching a four month high near $82,000 in the second week of May.

The selloff dragged the broader crypto market lower. Ethereum fell nearly 5% to trade near $1,900, Solana dropped 6% to around $76, and XRP declined 5% to about $1.22. The total crypto market cap fell 3.5% to roughly $2.3 trillion, with only a few tokens, including ZEC, NEAR, and Worldcoin, trading in positive territory.

The decline sparked more than $1 billion in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including about $989 million in long liquidations and $117 million in short liquidations. Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for most of the wipeout as leveraged traders were forced out of positions during the market drop.

The liquidations come as spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to bleed capital. Bitcoin funds recorded about $483 million in outflows on Monday, marking an 11 day outflow streak. Ethereum ETFs also remained under pressure, extending their outflow streak to 15 days with $44.5 million in redemptions.

Bitcoin’s weakness stands in sharp contrast to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token, which has rallied more than 80% since early May. HYPE recently reached a record high above $75 before pulling back about 4% on Tuesday to trade near $71. The token has continued to outperform the broader market amid demand for new Hyperliquid ETF products launched in May.

The broader risk market has moved in the opposite direction. The S&P 500 has gained more than 20% since its late March low and was nearly flat on Tuesday near 7,600 after touching another record high. The Nasdaq also remained near record levels, rising about 0.5% on the day to trade above 30,600.

Crypto linked stocks traded mostly lower alongside Bitcoin. Strategy fell nearly 10% to around $135, Circle dropped 6% below $100, Coinbase lost 6% to trade below $171, and Robinhood slipped 4% to around $86.

Bitcoin miners were an exception as several companies continued to benefit from investor demand for AI infrastructure exposure. TeraWulf rose 6%, Cipher Mining gained 7%, IREN climbed 4%, and Hut 8 added 3% as mining firms with AI data center strategies outperformed the broader crypto equity market.

The selloff also comes as uncertainty around the Iran conflict continues to weigh on sentiment. While equity markets have largely looked past the geopolitical risk since late March, stalled negotiations and shifting headlines have added another layer of volatility for crypto markets already under pressure from ETF outflows and forced liquidations.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.