Crypto markets bleed as bitcoin hovers above liquidation zone

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Crypto markets bleed as bitcoin hovers above liquidation zone Bitcoin dropped to $63,000 as the dollar climbed and equities weakened. A break below $60,000 risks further liquidations and a slide toward $52,500. By Oliver Knight , Omkar Godbole | Edited by Sheldon Reback Feb 24, 2026, 11:37 a.m. Make us preferred on Google Bitcoin investors are running to the exits. (Markus Pfaff/Shutterstock modified by CoinDesk) What to know : BTC is down 4.7% in 24 hours to $63,100; a break below $60,000 could open the door to liquidations and a move toward $52,500 support. BCH dropped 11.5%, while APT, ATOM and SUI fell 5%–8% as liquidity thins and sell pressure intensifies. DeFi TVL is holding up better than token prices, suggesting rotation into stablecoins, while RSI signals hint at a potential short-term bounce. Bitcoin BTC $ 63,131.80 fell for a fourth straight day to around $63,100, its lowest since Feb. 6's $60,200, CoinDesk data show. The latest move to the downside coincides with risk-off sentiment from investors across global markets. U.S. equities have lost ground this week, and the dollar index (DXY) rose by 0.5% since Asian hours on Monday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . BTC is down by 2.1% since midnight UTC and 4.7% over the past 24 hours. A break below $60,000 would trigger another round of liquidations and a possible leg down to as low as $52,500, which is a historical level of support dating back to 2021. The altcoin market also appears battered and bruised on Tuesday. BCH $ 478.21 lost 11.5% of its value over the past 24 hours with a 3% drawdown since midnight UTC, while SUI, JUP, PUMP and WLFI all lost more than 2%. Analysts are describing price action as a "slow bleed" typical of previous cryptocurrency bear markets, although it's worth noting that the average crypto relative strength index (RSI) indicator is flashing an "oversold" signal, meaning there is potential for a bounce in the low $60,000 region. Derivatives positioning Notional open interest in the crypto futures market dropped more than 4% to $92.5 billion, the lowest since early April 2025. The relentless slide shows continued de-risking by investors, who are moving capital out of leveraged products. Exchanges have liquidated $360 million worth of leveraged bets in 24 hours. Bullish bets or longs faced the brunt, accounting for over 90% of total liquidations on several exchanges, including Hyperliquid, HTX, Aster, Bitmex and Bitfinex. Some traders look to be shorting bitcoin in a weak market. That's evident from the increase in global open interest in bitcoin futures to 690.89K BTC, the highest since Feb. 6. The same is true for ether. Annualized funding rates in perpetuals tied to major tokens remain below zero, indicating a bias for bearish, short positions. TRX and TRON have funding rates as low as -35%, a sign of the market slowly becoming overcrowded with shorts. Bitcoin and ether's 30-day implied volatility indices have risen to two-week highs, indicating renewed market jitters. On Deribit, bitcoin and ether put options are trading at over 10 volatility premium to calls out to end-March expiry. This shows heightened concerns of an extended price selloff. Block flows featured BTC put spreads and straddles. A put spread is a bearish strategy with a limited-profit, limited-loss profile. Straddles represent a bet on volatility. Token talk With the exception of pippin (PIPPIN), an AI-related token that has doubled since the turn of the year after rising by 7.7% in the past 24 hours, the altcoin market is suffering from a lack of bullish catalysts. The decentralized finance (DeFi) market has lost less total value locked (TVL) than the value of assets has depreciated, suggesting traders and investors are moving to stablecoins to mitigate risk. This has led to poor performance among DeFi tokens, with CoinDesk's DeFi Select Index (DFX) losing 34.8% since the turn of the year to make it the worst-performing benchmark. Layer-1 tokens aptos APT $ 0.8108 , ATOM $ 2.0344 and SUI $ 0.8570 all fell 5% to 8% over the past 24 hours as the altcoin market grapples with a lack of liquidity and relentless waves of sell pressure. 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