Bitcoin (BTC) slid below $73,000, reaching a 2026 low of $72,945 after bulls failed to hold the $73K level, extending a broader risk-off move across crypto. Year-to-date, BTC is down about 15% and roughly 45% below its $126,267 all-time high, prompting questions about whether the bull cycle has peaked.
Weakness in U.S. equities is a main catalyst. Since late Q4 2025, investors have grown wary of the costs tied to AI infrastructure build-outs and high valuations for AI-focused firms. Concerns that product demand and revenue will miss lofty projections have pressured the Magnificent 7 and major indices: the S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ were trading down roughly 0.7%–1.8% on the day. AI leaders Nvidia and Microsoft fell about 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively, while Amazon lost roughly 2.7%. With more than 100 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings this week, the early-week volatility may reflect investor anxiety ahead of those results.
Leveraged liquidations in crypto magnified selling pressure. CoinGlass data showed roughly $127.25 million in BTC long liquidations and about $159.1 million in ETH long liquidations during the move.
Some market participants argue BTC is trading at a significant discount, but retail and some institutional dip-buying have yet to reverse the decline. Joe Burnett, vice president of Bitcoin strategy at Strive, said BTC’s current “price action is still sitting within historical norms at $74,000.” He added that the “45% Bitcoin drawdown aligns closely with historical volatility,” calling such volatility “a symptom of a rapidly monetizing asset.”
Order-book data for BTC/USDT on Binance (via TRDR.io) show bids thickening between roughly $71,800 and $63,000. Whether traders step in across that range remains uncertain, and broader macro and equity-market outcomes are likely to remain the dominant drivers of Bitcoin’s near-term price action.
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