Crypto crash: Bitcoin slips under $100K as risk assets tumble worldwide

Mumbai: Bitcoin prices tumbled sharply on Wednesday, briefly falling below the $100,000 mark as heavy selling hit the spot market, mirroring a wider global sell-off in risk assets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped 3.7 per cent to $101,822, after touching an intra-day low of $99,010.06, its weakest level since mid-June. The decline came amid mounting investor concerns over overvalued markets and waning risk appetite.

Other major digital currencies also traded lower. Ethereum slid 6.78 per cent to $3,331.65, Solana dropped 3.15 per cent to $157.68, XRP declined 3.16 per cent to $2.24, and Dogecoin slipped 1.47 per cent to $0.165.

With Wednesday’s losses, Bitcoin has officially entered bear market territory, having fallen more than 20 per cent from its record high of $126,186 reached in early October.

According to data from analytics platform CoinGlass, over $1.27 billion worth of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated earlier this week, mostly long bets as traders anticipating further price gains faced steep losses. Nearly $2 billion in total crypto positions were wiped out in the past 24 hours, although the scale remained far smaller than the $19 billion liquidation seen during last month’s market crash.

Reports also suggest that open interest in Bitcoin futures remains muted, while options traders are increasingly betting on further declines, with several targeting the $80,000 level through put contracts.

The latest slump in Bitcoin coincided with a broad downturn in global equity markets, fuelled by fears of an AI-driven bubble in tech valuations and concerns over stretched stock prices.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 251.44 points (0.53 per cent) to 47,085.24, the S&P 500 slipped 80.42 points (1.17 per cent) to 6,771.55, and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 488.09 points (2.04 per cent) to close at 23,348.64.

Analysts said the correction in cryptocurrencies reflects the broader market caution, as investors brace for a potential pullback following months of rapid gains driven by optimism around AI and digital assets.

IANS