On June 20-21, 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced significant price volatility, plunging below the $103,000 mark amid a surge in liquidation volumes driven by growing geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty. Analyst Axel Adler noted a sharp rise in long liquidation dominance, which jumped from 0% to 10% over the prior week, signaling shifting trader sentiment.
Bitcoin's price dropped to a monthly low of $102,225 on June 20, triggering liquidations exceeding $464 million, hitting over 130,000 leveraged traders, with the largest single liquidation order worth $8 million occurring on Bybit's BTCUSD pair. Long positions accounted for the majority of liquidations.
Ethereum (ETH) faced even heavier losses with $157.8 million liquidated, falling as low as $2,363 before slightly recovering to around $2,412. The altcoin market broadly followed ETH's decline, posting new monthly lows amidst the market-wide sell-off. The spike in trading volume and liquidation activity reflected traders' nervousness amid rising U.S. tariffs, geopolitical conflicts such as the Israel-Iran situation, and weaker global market conditions.
Between June 18 and 19, BTC had already fallen below $105,000, accompanied by $1.27 billion in long liquidations across crypto assets. The market remains at a critical juncture with the $102,000 BTC support level closely watched by analysts. If Bitcoin falls below this threshold, it could potentially test levels near $90,000. However, the continued resilience demonstrated by buyers despite heavy liquidations and strong institutional flows suggests a potential bullish reversal if liquidation dominance and market sentiment improve.
Market experts highlight BTC trading within a sideways range between $100,000 and $110,000, reflecting a stalemate between optimistic long-term outlooks and short-term macroeconomic risks. Other major cryptocurrencies such as Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) also experienced declines between 3% and 8% during this high-volatility period.