Bitcoin price tumbles below $90K as liquidations surge; MYX, ZRO, CC lead altcoin gains

Bitcoin (BTC) visited fresh weekly lows today, dipping to an intraday low of $87,902 as a violent wave of liquidations shook a market already dealing with shaky confidence.

The downturn was exacerbated by escalating trade tensions between the US and European allies that have sent global “risk-off” sentiment into overdrive.

Billions in value were wiped out of the total crypto market cap, which struggled to defend the $3.1 trillion mark as investors pivoted toward traditional safe havens.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index plunged 10 points to 32, sliding into the lower bounds of the “Fear” zone, a level typically associated with heightened anxiety and fading optimism across the market.

Altcoins fared no better, with gains confined to a select few niche assets while the majority of majors returned significant losses by the end of late Asian trading hours.

Why is Bitcoin price down today?

Bitcoin printed a new monthly low and lost the $90,000 psychological support as fears of a transatlantic trade war rattled markets worldwide.

Investor jitters intensified after Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on goods from NATO partners, including Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom, citing his continued ambition for the US to purchase Greenland.

While the proposal itself remains politically contentious, the economic fallout from even the threat of such tariffs has already started to take shape.

Traders are weighing the possibility of retaliatory actions from European nations, including large-scale selloffs of US assets such as government bonds and equities.

That risk, coupled with the broader uncertainty around tariff legality as the US Supreme Court deliberates on the issue, has accelerated the move away from riskier investments like Bitcoin and stocks.

The US equity market also pulled back sharply, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 all posting losses of over 1%.

Those declines were mirrored across Asia, where the Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng indices also saw steep drops, amplifying the retreat across risk assets globally.

Adding to the volatility, Japan’s financial markets showed signs of stress.

The yen weakened while bond yields spiked, fueling expectations that the Bank of Japan could roll out three additional rate hikes this year.

Citigroup analysts project a terminal rate of 150 basis points, and these forecasts further gained traction following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s call for a snap election, in which she pledged tax cuts and stimulus measures that would increase fiscal strain.

After briefly clinging to support near $95,000 earlier this week, Bitcoin gave way and slid below $90,000, touching $88,600 before finding temporary relief.

Losing these key levels triggered a cascade of automated sell orders and margin calls, leading to over $1 billion in long liquidations within 24 hours.

Most of the carnage was concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with forced selling deepening the pullback and worsening sentiment across the altcoin market.

To make matters worse, Spot Bitcoin ETFs, once a major source of institutional demand, registered significant net outflows on Tuesday, which confirmed that even large allocators are adopting a defensive stance, pulling capital amid mounting macro risk.

With US Treasury yields rising and traditional fixed-income products offering comparatively safer returns, Bitcoin is increasingly being viewed as a release valve for macroeconomic stress rather than a safe haven.

Until geopolitical risk subsides and rate expectations stabilise, the market could remain locked in a defensive posture.

Will Bitcoin price go up?

At the moment, Bitcoin bulls must hastily recapture $90,000 if further losses are to be avoided.

Losing two key support levels in less than a week’s time has significantly eroded market confidence, and the longer Bitcoin struggles to break through this level, it could push prices toward lower areas, specifically around $88,000, where a large cluster of long liquidations is visible on the 24-hour liquidation heatmap.

Bitcoin 24-hour liquidation heatmap. Source: Coinglass.

If Bitcoin slips through that $88,000 pocket, the next zone of vulnerability opens up near $86,000 to $85,000, which may act as a magnet for further forced selling. 

That scenario would likely trigger another wave of liquidations, particularly among overleveraged long positions that have yet to be flushed out, reinforcing the bearish feedback loop.

On the upside, the heatmap shows another layer of liquidity pressure just above, between $91,000 and $92,500, where short positions begin to pile up. 

A decisive move through that band could set off a chain of short liquidations, fueling a squeeze toward the $94,000 to $95,000 range.

On X, well-followed crypto analyst Ted Pillows pointed out that Bitcoin had recently filled a CME gap around the $88,200 level and now appears to have left another one open near $93,000. 

Bitcoin tends to revisit these gaps, which often act as price magnets. This could be the next technical target that pulls prices higher if short-term momentum flips.

At the same time, whales have begun accumulating near the lower ranges, according to fellow market watcher Kamran Asghar. (See below.)

Bitcoin Whale exchange balances – 30-day. Source: Kamran Asghar on X.

If large holders continue adding to their positions, that kind of activity could eventually inspire retail investors to re-enter as well.

 Some may begin viewing the current drawdown as a healthy correction rather than the start of a deeper downtrend.

On a longer timeframe, crypto trader and analyst Friedrich noted that if bulls manage to close the week above $94,000, it could provide the confirmation needed to jump-start a broader push toward the $100,000 mark. 

A strong weekly close above that level would restore key structure and potentially signal the end of the current cooldown. (See below.)

At the time of publication, the price was hovering just below the $90,000 mark.

Altcoin market recap

After hitting an intraday low of $1.25 trillion, the altcoin market cap stabilised around $1.3 trillion on Monday evening, Asian time. 

While the broader market struggled to find its footing, performance across major digital assets remained fragmented. 

Ethereum (ETH) slipped 1%, settling just below the psychological threshold at $2,990. 

In contrast, a handful of large-cap tokens managed to decouple from the downward trend; Solana (SOL), XRP, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) staged modest recoveries, posting gains between 1% and 3% as buyers stepped in to defend local support levels.

MYX Finance (MYX) led the highest gains of the day, primarily driven by anticipation for the network’s V2 upgrade, which would enable users to instantly launch perpetual markets. 

From a technical perspective, MYX has just bounced off a textbook bullish pennant, a pattern that usually signals a period of brief consolidation before a powerful move higher.

LayerZero (ZRO) followed with gains of 12.8% after investors managed to absorb over 25 million ZRO tokens released into circulation from a token unlock event on Tuesday.

For Canton (CC), its 10% gains followed after a 100X research report highlighted that the network has seen a surge in institutional adoption over the past month, with its portfolio comprising major names like DTCC, Nasdaq, and J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys.

The altcoin has also broken out of a bull flag pattern, a bullish reversal pattern that had been taking shape since the beginning of this year.

Source: CoinMarketCap

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