Bitcoin price fell hard on Monday and briefly printed a nine-month low near $74,546. A wave of forced liquidations across crypto, plus a sharp drop in gold and silver, hit risk sentiment and added extra selling pressure.
On Feb. 2, Bitcoin price slid roughly 5.7% to an intraday low around $74,546. After that dip, it bounced modestly and hovered near $76,473 at the time of writing. That move marked the weakest level for Bitcoin price since April last year.
Looking at the bigger trend, the decline picked up speed last Thursday when Bitcoin price broke below the major $90,000 psychological zone. Since that break, it has fallen about 17%, and it is roughly 40% below this year’s peak.
Why is Bitcoin price going down today?
Bitcoin price is dropping today because several negative factors hit the market at once:
1) Forced selling from high leverage
One of the biggest drivers is leverage getting flushed out. When Bitcoin price falls quickly, leveraged long positions can hit margin limits. Then exchanges automatically close those trades, which creates more market sell orders and pushes prices down again.
Today’s session saw about $798 million in total crypto liquidations. A large share came from long positions, and Bitcoin accounted for more than $200 million of long liquidations.
Liquidation happens when a trade moves against the trader and the account no longer has enough margin to support the position. When liquidations pile up, they can create a “cascade,” where one forced close triggers another round of selling, which keeps pressure on Bitcoin price.
This process accelerated over the weekend, when more than $2.4 billion in bullish positions were reportedly wiped out. That kind of event often scares traders, reduces fresh buying, and keeps the market fragile.
2) Gold and silver losses pushing traders to raise cash
The move also intensified after a sudden sell-off in gold and silver. When traders take losses in one market, they often sell other holdings to cover margin calls or reduce overall risk. In this case, some traders sold crypto—adding downside pressure to Bitcoin price.
3) Liquidity concerns hurting risk appetite
Sentiment weakened further after reports involving Donald Trump and his nomination of **Kevin Warsh as the next head of the Federal Reserve. Some investors worry that policy could tilt toward tighter liquidity and faster balance-sheet reduction. When markets expect less “easy money,” traders often reduce exposure to higher-risk assets, and Bitcoin price can react fast.
4) Not enough buyers to slow the drop
This sell-off has also looked sharper because fewer buyers stepped in to absorb the pressure. Institutional demand appears softer, and spot Bitcoin ETFs reportedly recorded over $1.6 billion in net outflows during January. When inflows weaken and forced selling rises, Bitcoin price can slide faster and farther.
Technical breaks added more downside momentum
From a chart standpoint, Bitcoin price has lost multiple support areas in the past week, including the $80,000 level. Traders often treat big round numbers as key “mental” support zones. When price breaks below them with strong selling, it can trigger panic exits, stop-loss orders, and more liquidations—creating another push downward.
Bottom line
Bitcoin price is crashing today mainly because leveraged longs are being forced out, gold and silver losses are pushing traders to sell other assets, liquidity fears are reducing risk appetite, and buyer demand looks weaker at major support levels.
