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Bitcoin plunges to 21-month low as $1.4B in liquidations rocks crypto markets

Bitcoin plunged to $58,131 on June 25, its lowest since September 2024, triggering over $1.4 billion in liquidations as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit 13, signaling extreme fear. The selloff was driven by a $10 billion Bitcoin options expiration on Deribit, geopolitical tensions, and capital rotation toward AI sectors, with Bitcoin now trading below its 200-week moving average.

read2 min views1 publishedJun 25, 2026
Bitcoin plunges to 21-month low as $1.4B in liquidations rocks crypto markets
Image: Cryptobriefing (auto-discovered)

The largest cryptocurrency crashed to $58,131 as extreme fear grips the market and capital flows shift toward AI sectors

Bitcoin dropped to $58,131 on June 25, marking its lowest price since September 2024. That’s a staggering fall from grace for an asset that was trading above $126,000 just eight months ago.

The selloff triggered more than $1.4 billion in liquidations over 24 hours, with the overwhelming majority hitting long positions.

How bad is the damage #

Bitcoin’s weekly losses now sit at 6.6%. After touching that intraday low, the price staged a modest bounce to around $59,460, still down roughly 2.6% on the day.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures market sentiment on a scale from 0 to 100, cratered to 13. That puts the reading firmly in “Extreme Fear” territory.

Bitcoin hit a record high above $126,000 in late 2025, powered by optimistic pro-crypto policies and institutional inflows. The current price represents a decline of more than 53% from that peak.

The global cryptocurrency market cap has shrunk from its October 2025 peak of approximately $4.28 trillion to around $2 trillion. Altcoins have suffered even steeper percentage losses than Bitcoin.

What’s driving the selloff #

Roughly $10 billion worth of Bitcoin options were set to expire on Deribit on June 26. Large options expirations tend to create gravitational pull on prices as market makers hedge their positions, and analysts expect the expiry to inject additional volatility into an already fragile market.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions and broader risk-off sentiment have pushed investors away from speculative assets. Investors have also been redirecting funds toward AI and other high-growth technology sectors.

The technical picture is flashing red #

Bitcoin is now trading below its 200-week moving average. This indicator has historically served as a dividing line between bull and bear markets. The last time Bitcoin spent meaningful time below this level, it was during the 2022 bear market that followed the collapse of FTX and Terra.

What this means for investors #

The immediate concern is whether the options expiration on June 26 will trigger another leg down. With $10 billion in contracts settling, there’s meaningful risk of additional price dislocation, particularly if market makers need to unwind hedges in thin liquidity conditions.

The shrinkage from $4.28 trillion to $2 trillion in total crypto market cap means reduced liquidity, which means higher volatility on lower trading volumes.

Investors still committed to crypto exposure should be watching the $55,000 to $58,000 range closely. A sustained break below could open the door to significantly lower prices, while a hold and recovery above the 200-week moving average would be the first sign that the worst might be behind us.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our

Editorial Policy.

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