Bitcoin Slides Back to April 2024 Territory as Crypto Selloff Deepens

CoinDesk reported that crypto markets extended their decline on Tuesday, pulling total market capitalization down to about $2.61 trillion. Losses were broad-based: 87 of the top 100 tokens fell, led by Bitcoin, which touched its lowest level since April last year. Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin also moved lower. Rate expectations continue to weigh on risk assets. The latest leg down was fueled by macro concerns after reports said U.S. President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to serve as the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh is widely viewed as inclined toward tighter monetary policy, reinforcing fears that rates could stay higher for longer. Uncertainty around the still-unresolved partial U.S. federal government shutdown has added to risk-off positioning, a backdrop that typically pushes investors away from more volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies. ETF flows have remained negative. Institutional selling has been a key driver, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posting nearly $1.5 billion in net outflows last week, including sizable redemptions from products offered by BlackRock, Fidelity and Bitwise. Spot Ethereum ETFs also saw close to $460 million in net outflows, signaling a pullback in institutional exposure to major crypto assets and a slowdown in fresh buying demand. Liquidations accelerated the move. In the past 24 hours, total market liquidations exceeded $800 million, largely from heavily leveraged long positions. The biggest single liquidation was on Hyperliquid, where a BTCUSD position worth about $15.46 million was closed out. Risk appetite has deteriorated sharply. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 15, placing it in the "extreme fear" zone. Bitcoin was last around $77,324, approaching the $74,500 support level cited in the report. A break below that area could shift focus to the $68,000–$70,000 range.