Bitcoin price hits 15-month low as $800 million worth of cryptocurrencies are liquidated

Bitcoin experiences its second drop below the $73,000 mark immediately after Wall Street opens on Wednesday, amid renewed selling pressure from American investors dragging the market downward.

Rapid “relief” rally fails, macro risks cast a shadow

According to TradingView data, BTC shows clear signs of weakness during the US session, with a dip below $72,500 at one point. This decline is even deeper than the lowest point recorded in 15 months the day before, while the short-term rally above $76,000 was quickly extinguished.

BTC/USD chart on a 1-hour timeframe | Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView Negative developments are not limited to the cryptocurrency market. Macro assets generally remain sluggish: gold failed to reclaim the $5,000 support level, and US stocks opened in the red.

In the “Asia Color” market update, QCP Capital, a trading firm, states that the cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. QCP also believes that the US government’s temporary avoidance of a new shutdown is helping to reduce short-term news risks.

However, QCP warns that the “deadline” risk has not disappeared: the US Department of Homeland Security’s budget is only extended until February 13, meaning the market could soon face a new fiscal tension.

“Bear market” signals cause traders to be cautious, with the $50,000 level mentioned more frequently

Amid prevailing uncertain sentiment, traders continue to exercise caution. According to Coinphoton, the area around $50,000 is becoming a frequently mentioned target in the market.

Trader Roman posted on X that the current weekly candlestick structure is unfavorable for bulls: if BTC closes below $74,000, the $50,000 zone is likely to be the next destination.

He also highlighted a concerning sign: trading volume spikes significantly whenever prices drop, indicating that the inflow of funds is mainly selling—characteristic of “price action in a bear market.”

Trader CJ is even preparing for a scenario where BTC could drop another $10,000 (or more), though the possibility of a technical rebound before the downtrend continues remains open.

From a long-term technical perspective, some analysts mention a potential “buffer zone” at the 200-week EMA, currently near $68,000.

Data from CoinGlass shows that long position liquidations on the futures market are accumulating above $72,000, while total liquidations across the entire cryptocurrency market in 24 hours have exceeded $800 million.

BTC liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass If you want, I can edit this into a proper news article format (title–subheading–body–quote) or condense it into a 5–7 sentence social media post.