Why Is Crypto Market Down Today? Bitcoin Price Drops to $97K

Why Is the Crypto Market Down Today and What Is Driving the Sell-Off?

Why is crypto market down today, and why did crypto prices fall so quickly?

In the last 24 hours, the crypto market went through a rough and unexpected slide.

Source: CMC

Bitcoin broke below $100K, altcoins crashed one after another, and more than $1.10 billion worth of trades were liquidated. The market mood suddenly shifted from confidence to fear, leaving traders worried about what happens next.

Bitcoin Whales Start Selling

One of the biggest reasons the crypto market is down today is that long-term Bitcoin holders have started selling heavily.
According to CryptoQuant, around 815,000 BTC were sold in just 30 days — the highest amount since early 2024.

When people who usually hold for years start selling, it sends a message:

• They are taking profits while prices are high

• They may be preparing for more downside

Because of this, selling pressure increased, and BTC became more unstable. The market simply wasn’t ready for this much BTC hitting exchanges at once.

BTC Breaks Important Support Levels

It didn’t just drop; it broke through key levels that many traders were depending on.
The first big shock was when it fell under $100K, a level that many people thought would hold strongly. Then it broke below the 200-day EMA at $98K, which made the industry even more nervous. it’s RSI also fell to 28, which means the price was pushed into oversold territory.

Miners added more pressure by sending BTC to exchanges, which usually leads to more selling.

Once these levels were broken, traders began rushing out of long positions, which added more fuel to the fall.

Another aspect of the Bitcoin price crash is the close relation of Bitcoin to the Nasdaq Index.

According to Winterminutes Research, BTC still moves almost in tandem with tech stocks, holding an 0.8 correlation.

Even though the U.S. stock market was closed during the crypto crash, trader sentiment still took a hit due to anxiety around tech stocks and interest rates.

Liquidations Hit Over $1 Billion in a Day

A major reason the fall felt so violent was because of forced liquidations.
In the past 24 hours alone:

• Over 248,000 traders were liquidated

• Total liquidations reached $1.10 billion

• BTC liquidations were $509 million

• The biggest single liquidation was a $44.29M BTC long

Source: Coinglass

Liquidations create a chain reaction.
During crypto crash once prices drop, leveraged trades get closed automatically, which pushes the price down again. This cycle continues until the market finds a stable point.

Even in the middle of all this, one whale opened a new $31 million Bitcoin long, showing that some big players think the crypto industry may recover soon.

Altcoins Crash Even Harder Than Bitcoin

Altcoins suffered the most during this drop.
The charts clearly showed heavy losses across major tokens:

• Ethereum fell nearly 10%

• Solana was down around 9%

• BNB, XRP, DOGE, and many others saw deep red candles

Smaller tokens and mid-cap coins dropped even more.

What Does the Momentum Look Like Now?

The Fear & Greed Index is at 22, which clearly reflects fear and uncertainty. The entire crypto market has already dropped over 16% in the last month. ETF outflows of $613 million added more weakness.

Short-Term Outlook

• Bitcoin needs to stay above $95K, or the fall may continue

• Since RSI is oversold, a short-term bounce is possible

• Altcoins are likely to stay weak unless Bitcoin stabilizes

Right now, everyone is watching Bitcoin’s next move. If BTC holds the $95K support, the momentum may slowly calm down. If not, we could see more red across the board.