Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday, sliding to its lowest level in more than two months as a wave of forced liquidations swept through leveraged positions. The downturn came as investors also assessed growing uncertainty around leadership changes at the Federal Reserve.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last trading down 4.5% at $83,080 by 09:26 ET (14:26 GMT). Earlier in the session, Bitcoin touched a low of $81,201.5, bringing it close to levels last seen in April.
Liquidation wave hits crypto markets
Data from CoinGlass showed that approximately $1.68 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours. Around 93% of these liquidations came from long positions, highlighting how traders positioned for higher prices were caught off guard by the sudden drop.
In total, nearly 270,000 traders saw their positions forcibly closed, accelerating losses across Bitcoin and the broader digital asset market. Liquidations occur when exchanges automatically close leveraged trades that no longer meet margin requirements, often amplifying volatility during sharp market moves.
Fed leadership uncertainty weighs on sentiment
Friday’s sell-off also coincided with heightened concern over U.S. monetary policy leadership. Donald Trump said he would announce his pick to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, fueling speculation around a potential policy shift.
Reports suggest the White House is preparing to nominate former Fed governor Kevin Warsh for the role. Warsh is widely viewed as favoring a tighter approach to the Fed’s balance sheet and monetary policy, a stance that could reduce liquidity conditions that have supported risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Broader markets reacted with a move toward risk-off positioning, a stronger U.S. dollar, and higher bond yields — trends that have added pressure to crypto prices. Central bank policy remains a key driver for high-beta assets like Bitcoin, influencing liquidity, interest rates, and investor appetite for risk.
Bitcoin ETFs see heavy outflows
The slump in Bitcoin also triggered a sharp pullback from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. On Thursday, the products recorded $817 million in net outflows as prices slid to their lowest level in nine months.
BlackRock’s IBIT led the withdrawals, with about $318 million exiting the fund. This exceeded the combined outflows from Fidelity’s FBTC, which saw roughly $168 million leave, and Grayscale’s GBTC, which recorded around $119 million in redemptions, according to data from SoSoValue.
The heavy selling followed a string of bearish developments that pushed Bitcoin decisively below its recent trading range.
Altcoins extend losses
Losses were not limited to Bitcoin. Most major altcoins also declined sharply as liquidation pressure spread across the market.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell nearly 7% to $2,735.82, while XRP dropped 6.1% to $1.75. Solana slid 5.3%, Cardano plunged more than 6%, and Polygon eased around 5%.
Meme tokens also weakened, with Dogecoin down 4.6%, while the $TRUMP token retreated 2.4%.
