Bitcoin Falls to $59,100 as $1.75B Liquidations Hit

Bitcoin fell to an intraday low of $59,100 on June 5, sliding about 19.3% over seven days and 26.8% over 30 days. The price drop moved bitcoin below the 200-week moving average for the first time since June 2022 and left more than half of all bitcoin holders with unrealized losses.

Liquidation tracking firm Coinglass recorded $1.75 billion in crypto liquidations in a 24-hour period, with roughly $1.45 billion tied to long positions. Bitcoin accounted for $560.72 million of the liquidations, including $448 million in longs. Ether saw $473.02 million in liquidations, of which $408 million were longs. The largest forced trade logged was a BTCUSDT position on Binance valued at $13.31 million. Elevated leverage in perpetual futures markets contributed to a cascade of stop orders and forced exits.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds registered estimated net outflows between $2.8 billion and $3.5 billion across 10 to 11 consecutive sessions in late May and early June. One week recorded about $3.4 billion in redemptions, the largest single-week reversal since the ETFs launched in early 2024. BlackRock’s IBIT was among funds that experienced notable redemptions.

Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, disclosed a sale of 32 BTC between May 26 and May 31 at an average price near $77,135 per coin to fund distributions on its STRC perpetual preferred stock. The company continues to hold more than 843,700 BTC at an average cost basis of about $75,699.

On-chain measures showed increased activity as the correction deepened. More than 50% of circulating bitcoin sat at an unrealized loss. A market participant using the name Darkfrost posted that the 30-day moving average of transaction volume is nearing all-time highs and monthly transaction counts are close to 640,000. The post described the turnover as “one of the most significant” changes of hands and called it “more of a capitulation episode.”

Sentiment indicators reflected elevated fear. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell into the low teens, registering about 12 in early June. Global search interest for the term “bitcoin” reached its highest score over the past week, with searches concentrated on price declines.

Broader factors cited by market participants included rising geopolitical tensions involving the U.S. and Iran, higher oil prices and renewed concerns about inflation, and the Federal Reserve’s refusal to rule out further rate increases. Some investors also moved capital into artificial intelligence-related equities; Strategy’s chairman Michael Saylor wrote that markets are funding an AI buildout of roughly $400 billion over six months and attributed about $4 billion in ETF outflows since May 14 to capital rotation.

Technicians are monitoring support near $60,000, saying a sustained break could lead to tests around $58,000 and that liquidity clustering near $53,000 could attract further selling. Some analysts noted daily relative strength index readings near 17 to 18, levels that have appeared before recoveries in past cycles. Analysts listed possible triggers for a price rebound as a reversal in ETF flows, de-escalation of geopolitical tensions, or clearer signals on Federal Reserve policy.