Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $80,000 on January 31, marking the lowest level since April 2025. During the same period, approximately $1.7 billion worth of liquidations occurred across the virtual asset market within about 24 hours.
This decline followed a confirmation of resistance at $90,000 on Thursday and coincided with a sharp sell-off in the precious metals market.
According to CoinGlass data, about 267,000 traders were liquidated, with long positions accounting for approximately 93% of the total liquidation volume. The single largest liquidation occurred on Hyperliquid, where Ethereum (ETH) positions worth over $13 million were liquidated.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at about 34% lower than its all-time high of $126,000 recorded in October 2025. The decline on Saturday extended the adjustment that began on Thursday, when Bitcoin fell from $90,000 to $81,000 in a few hours before partially recovering to around $84,000.
Overall market pressure
Major altcoins experienced similar declines. Ethereum fell by 7% in 24 hours to around $2,600, while BNB and XRP dropped by about 5-6%. The total market capitalization of virtual assets decreased by approximately $200 billion during this period.
The decline in virtual assets was intertwined with extreme volatility in the precious metals market. According to Bloomberg data, gold plummeted by as much as 11% on Friday from its all-time high of around $5,600 per ounce, while silver dropped about 36% from its Thursday peak of $120 per ounce.
Market analysts diagnosed that the recent surge, combined with profit-taking and expectations and speculation surrounding President Trump's nomination of Kevin Wash as Fed Chair, heightened volatility in precious metals.
The Wash nomination was officially confirmed on Friday morning, triggering a reassessment of monetary policy expectations across asset classes.
Read more: Treasury Sanctions First Crypto Exchanges For Operating In Iranian Financial Sector
Derivatives deleveraging
This wave of liquidations was triggered as Bitcoin broke below key support levels, leading to forced liquidations and deleveraging of leveraged positions. The scale of long position liquidations reached approximately $1.58 billion, suggesting that many traders had aggressively bet on further increases before the drop.
Bitcoin spot ETFs saw net outflows exceeding $1.1 billion over five consecutive trading days from January 20 to 26, indicating potential adjustments in institutional positions alongside individual investor liquidations. Outflows were concentrated in three major products, which accounted for about 92% of the total fund outflows.
According to CryptoQuant analyst data, the derivatives market saw a surge in liquidations reaching extreme levels, removing a significant portion of leveraged long positions; however, the funding rate remained in positive territory. This was interpreted as an indicator that positioning pressure may not have been completely alleviated based on the decline.
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