Bitcoin suffered one of its sharpest reversals of the month, plunging below $78,000 late Thursday after a fleeting rally driven by regulatory optimism evaporated. The selloff triggered a cascade of leveraged-long liquidations totaling roughly $649 million across the crypto market, with Bitcoin alone accounting for $215.92 million in forced closures.
The downturn crushed bullish bets—95% of the 24-hour crypto liquidations came from long positions, wiping out $620.62 million in long-trader capital. Bitcoin had earlier surged toward $82,000 on news that the CLARITY Act advanced through a Senate committee, renewing hopes for clearer U.S. crypto regulations. Yet the momentum quickly inverted as broader macro headwinds took hold.
Rising inflation fears, climbing oil prices, and a spike in Treasury yields soured risk appetite, sending Bitcoin more than $4,000 lower in a matter of hours. The slide dragged the asset to its lowest level since the start of May, just days after it had briefly tagged $82,792. The reversal underscored the fragility of leveraged rallies in an environment where ETF outflows and geopolitical tensions are already weighing on sentiment.
Bitcoin ETFs, which had just snapped a two-week inflow streak, bled nearly $1.15 billion in outflows over the week, adding to the selling pressure. Meanwhile, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) resumed its Bitcoin accumulation program but also discussed potential BTC sales to manage dividends and financing—a mixed signal that did little to stabilize prices. The CLARITY Act’s progress remains a long-term bullish catalyst, but for now, the market has reverted to a risk-off posture as leverage gets flushed out.
