⁠Bitcoin Moves Back Above $70,000 After A Day Of Losses, Reports Find

Bitcoin had gone back above $70,000 on Friday after a big sell off the day before. Data from Coin Metrics showed the price reached $71,458.01 at its highest point during the session. It later traded at about $70,411 by mid afternoon in New York.

The bounce came one day after bitcoin went below $61,000. That fall is a 15% drop in a single day. Investors reacted after the token had already gone down by more than 50% from its record price above $126,000 reached last October, according to Coin Metrics data.

Equity markets moved higher at the same time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average came up 918 points, which is about 1.9%. The S&P 500 added 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite traded 1.5% higher. Market activity showed renewed interest in assets linked to risk after a very unstable week.

Large technology stocks also moved higher. Nvidia gained 6% and Microsoft added 1%. Those moves followed heavy falls earlier in the week, when shares linked to artificial intelligence came under pressure.

What Triggered The Fall Earlier In The Week?

Reuters reported that bitcoin went down hard on Thursday as trading conditions got worse across markets. The price reached $63,295.74, its weakest level since October 2024. It later traded about 12.6% lower on the day at $63,525.

Data from CoinGlass showed roughly $1 billion in bitcoin positions were liquidated over 24 hours. CoinGecko said the global crypto market has lost $2 trillion in value since early October, when the total reached $4.379 trillion. About $800 billion of that went down in the last month alone.

Bitcoin had already gone down 17% over the week and 28% so far this year, according to Reuters calculations. Ether traded more than 13% lower at $1,854 late on Thursday. It has gone down 19% over the week and close to 38% in 2026 so far.

Pressure also came from other markets. Gold and silver saw large price swings tied to leveraged trades. Silver went down as much as 18% to $72.21. At the same time, the S&P 500 reached a seven week low and the Nasdaq fell to its lowest level in more than two months.

How Are Analysts Reading The Market Mood?

Nic Puckrin, co founder of Coin Bureau, described the tone in blunt terms. “The crypto market is now in full capitulation mode,” he said. “If previous cycles are anything to go by, this is no longer a short term correction, but a transition from distribution to reset and these typically take months, not weeks.”

Pressure has also spread to listed companies that hold digital assets. Shares tied to crypto holdings went down, adding to fears that stress in token prices could spread into equities.

Political news also fed into the sell off. Reuters said Donald Trump’s choice of Kevin Warsh as his pick for Federal Reserve chair added pressure. Manuel Villegas Franceschi from Julius Baer said: “The market fears a hawk with him. A smaller balance sheet is not going to give any tailwinds for crypto.”

Could Prices Fall Again From Here?

Bitcoin now trades close to the $70,000 level, around 45% below its all time high. That leaves traders split on what comes next.

Markus Thielen from 10X Research said bitcoin could go lower after the recent rebound. “I think we are going to have a little counter trend rally that might go sideways or bounce a little bit,” he said. “But I think during the summer we make another low.” His firm sees a possible move down to $50,000.

Institutional trading has added pressure. Deutsche Bank analysts wrote that large withdrawals from exchange traded funds have impacted prices. They said US spot bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of more than $3 billion in January, after $2 billion in December and $7 billion in November.

Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar also referred to risks around miners. He said worries are growing about forced selling if prices go down further. Kumar added that crypto should be only a very small share of portfolios, especially given its heavy ownership among retail investors.