Bitcoin Buckles Below $69K as Crypto Bulls Endure $175M Liquidations

Bitcoin (BTC) buckled below $69,000 as cryptocurrencies slid Tuesday, paring optimism after Monday's rally.

BTC slipped as low as $68,580 from above $71,000. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap was recently priced near $69,000, down about 4% over the past 24 hours, CoinDesk data shows.

The drop echoed through the crypto markets, with the broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) losing 3.2% in the same period. Ether (ETH) fell below $3,500, almost 4% lower, and major altcoins solana (SOL) and dogecoin (DOGE) slid as much as 6% to 7%.

The declines led to almost $200 million worth of leveraged derivatives trading positions being liquidated across all digital assets as of 15:45 UTC, CoinGlass data shows. The overwhelming majority, some $175 million worth of positions, were longs betting on prices to rise. This was the largest daily leveraged long flush in a week, the data show, suggesting that leveraged traders were caught off-guard.

While bitcoin's Monday breakout above $70,000 prompted some analysts to predict higher prices, some technical analysis indicated a different conclusion. Monday's high price was below the record highs recorded in March, meaning that the subdued prices might continue for a while before targeting fresh highs, according to Joel Kruger, a market strategist at LMAX Group.

"Bitcoin continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience, finding support amidst a period of consolidation," he said in an emailed note. "The daily chart hints at a potential lower top around $71,800, suggesting the possibility of corrective price action before a fresh attempt at record highs.