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Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 on Thursday amid a broader sell-off of risk assets. It's the first time bitcoin has fallen below $70,000 since November 2024. Bitcoin was last trading at around $69,332 at 7:31 a.m. ET, according to CoinMetrics data. Some market watchers have suggested $70,000 is a key level to watch and a break below that could trigger more falls for bitcoin. James Butterfill, head of research at Coinshares, said $70,000 is a "key psychological level," adding that "if we fail to hold it, a move toward" the $60,000 to $65,000 range "becomes quite likely."
Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon The price of bitcoin over the last year.
The drop follows a broad sell-off in tech stocks in the U.S. on Wednesday which filtered through to cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, precious metals continue to be volatile with silver plunging again on Thursday and gold under pressure. Liquidations — when traders' positions are automatically sold as bitcoin hits a certain price — continue to weigh on markets. This week, more than $2 billion long and short positions in cryptocurrencies have been liquidated this week as of Thursday, according to data from Coinglass. Bitcoin has been on a steady decline since it hit an all-time high above $126,000 in October. It now sits around 40% off that record high with other cryptocurrencies, including ether and XRP , off by much more. "[The] straight line bull run that a lot of people expected hasn't really materialized yet. Bitcoin isn't trading on hype anymore, the story has lost a bit of that plot, it is trading on pure liquidity and capital flows," Maja Vujinovic, CEO of digital assets at FG Nexus, told CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange."
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