BTC, ETH, BNB, and XRP prices continued their freefall on Friday, triggering over $2.5 billion in liquidations across leveraged markets.

According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price fell 18% from Thursday’s high of $73,639 to an intraday low of $60,255 on Friday morning. This marked its lowest level since October 2024. While it has recovered from part of its losses, trading around $64,600 at press time, it remains 34% below this year’s high of $97,538.

Ethereum (ETH) price fell 10% to a nine-month low of $1,756 before settling at a little above $1,900, down 10% over the past 24 hours. The largest altcoin by market cap had fallen 43.6% from its yearly high. BNB (BNB) fell under $600 before recovering the support zone and standing 11% lower on the day.

Other large-cap cryptocurrencies such as XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) remained with losses ranging between 12-16%. Some of the top laggards of the day were LEO Token (LEO), Monero (XMR), and Official Trump (TRUMP). Altogether, the crypto market fell 8.2% to $2.27 trillion at the time of writing.

The market drop triggered massive liquidations across leveraged markets. Data from CoinGlass shows that over $2.6 billion worth of positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $2.31 billion, roughly 89%, stemming from long positions. 

Bitcoin led the carnage with $1.08 billion in long wipeouts, followed by Ethereum at nearly $455 million. In total, approximately 590,810 traders were liquidated, including a single $12 million position on Binance.

The primary catalysts triggering today’s liquidations were Bitcoin’s drop below $70,000 and subsequently $65,000, where large clusters of leveraged long positions were located.

When a leading asset loses major key support levels where bullish bets are concentrated, they trigger forced sell orders, which can quickly develop into a liquidation cascade that is a self-reinforcing loop of falling prices. Bitcoin’s sharp decline effectively pulled the floor out from under other large-cap digital assets.

Notably, the largest crypto asset has fallen over 20% so far this week as it suffers from the weakness in U.S. tech stocks such as Microsoft, AMD, and Nvidia.

Microsoft shares stood over 8% lower in the past five days, while chip-making giants AMD and Nvidia shares were down 18.5% and 10%, respectively, over the same period. These declines come amid disappointing earnings and concerns related to heavy AI infrastructure spending. AI-based cryptocurrencies have been some of the leading losers of the day, with the sector as a whole down 42% in the past 24 hours.

Risk sentiment was also hurt as investors reacted to weak U.S. jobs data, including rising unemployment claims that raise doubts about sustained economic strength and potential Fed caution on aggressive rate cuts this year.

Waning institutional demand has added another layer of pressure to already fragile retail confidence. Most notably, spot Bitcoin ETFs faced a brutal three-day streak of outflows, with investors pulling over $1.2 billion from the funds. 

Compounding this bearish momentum, World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture backed by the Trump family, reportedly offloaded more than $5 million in Bitcoin holdings just a day before the crash.

In the midst of the market bloodbath, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index plunged to a score of 9 on Friday, signaling extreme fear among investors and marking the lowest level recorded in over three and a half years. The last time the sentiment score fell this low was during the catastrophic Terra blockchain collapse of 2022.

Japan’s Metaplanet will continue buying Bitcoin even as the crypto market downturn has weighed heavily on the company’s shares.

As Bitcoin price touched $60,000 around the Asia open, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich took to X to reaffirm the company’s decision to continue stockpiling the flagship cryptocurrency.

“We are fully aware that, given the recent stock price trends, our shareholders continue to face a challenging situation,” Gerovich wrote, before adding that the current market scenario will not affect Metaplanet’s Bitcoin buying strategy.

“We will steadily continue to accumulate Bitcoin, expand revenue, and prepare for the next phase of growth,” Gerovich said.

Metaplanet shares were down over 6% at the time of writing after falling from the day’s open. Losses have been more prominent over the past six months, with the stock dropping more than 63.4% over that period.

Bitcoin is down over 47% from its all-time high as of press time, but the persistent downturn over the past month did not deter Metaplanet from inflating its reserves.

Throughout the last quarter of 2025, Metaplanet acquired roughly $451 million worth of the largest cryptocurrency, which pushed its total holdings to 35,102 BTC.

According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, the company’s average cost of acquisition is around $107,716. That puts the company at an unrealized loss of nearly 39% based on current prices.

Metaplanet is not the only Bitcoin hoarder that is currently underwater, as Strategy, the largest corporate holder, reported a $12.6 billion net loss for Q4 2025. With an average acquisition cost of $76,052 per BTC, its holdings are also in the red, with losses of over 13%.

However, like Gerovich, Strategy CEO Michael Saylor has assured that the company will continue buying Bitcoin and even dismissed fears of liquidation by noting that BTC would have to crash to $8,000 before it becomes a concern.

Metaplanet, on the other hand, is gearing up to raise as much as $137 million using a combination of common shares and stock acquisition rights to fatten its reserves and reduce debt.

The announcement, however, did not bode well with company shareholders, as the company’s stock fell by over 3.5% on the day.

Tether has made a $150 million strategic investment in precious metals platform Gold.com, acquiring a roughly 12% stake as part of a broader push to expand access to both tokenized and physical gold.

The investment is aimed at strengthening XAU₮, Tether’s gold-backed digital asset, which is pegged to physical gold held in reserve.

XAU₮ is one of the largest tokenized gold stablecoins in terms of market share, and the investment boosts its global credibility and distribution.

Tether deepens push into tokenized gold

As part of the partnership, Gold.com agreed to invest $20 million from the proceeds into XAU₮, further aligning both firms’ interests.

“Our investment in Gold.com reflects a long-term belief that gold should be as accessible, transferable, and usable as modern digital money, without compromising on physical backing or ownership,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.

The news comes as Tether has been steadily accumulating bullion in secure Swiss vaults, buying more than a ton of gold each week to support its stablecoin and gold-backed products. Tether now holds approximately 140 tons of physical gold valued at about $23 billion.

Under the agreement, Tether will purchase approximately 3.37 million common shares at a discount to recent market prices and will be entitled to nominate a board member at Gold.com.

The companies also plan to explore commercial arrangements, including promoting Tether stablecoins on Gold.com’s platform and enabling gold purchases with digital currencies such as USD₮ and USA₮.

For context, Gold.com is a vertically integrated alternative assets platform that offers a broad range of precious metals, numismatic coins, and collectibles. Founded in 1965, the company operates across the U.S. and international markets.

Greg Roberts, CEO of Gold.com, said the investment “builds upon Gold.com’s 60+ year legacy and expands our reach beyond traditional bullion into digital gold and stablecoins,” adding that the capital will help strengthen the company’s offerings and support future innovation.

The deal reflects broader trends in tokenizing real-world assets, as investors and issuers increasingly seek to merge physical commodities with blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

Bitcoin price entered Friday under pressure as $2.1 billion in options contracts approach expiry.

Bitcoin is facing another key test as a large batch of derivatives contracts reaches maturity. Bitcoin options worth about $2.1 billion are set to expire at 8:00 a.m. UTC on Feb. 6, according to data from Deribit.

About 34,000 contracts are covered by the expiry, which comes at a time when market sentiment is still shaky. Call options still outnumber puts, as shown by the put-to-call ratio, which is close to 0.60.

This implies that a large number of traders had positioned themselves for higher Bitcoin (BTC) prices in earlier weeks. The so-called max pain level, where most option buyers would lose money, sits around $80,000. That level is well above current market prices.

Ethereum (ETH) options worth about $390 million are also expiring alongside BTC options. These contracts have a put-to-call ratio of 1.01 and a max pain level near $2,450.

Bitcoin has struggled to regain its footing after dropping to an intraday low of $60,286, later stabilizing in a narrow $63,000–$65,000 range. Due to a mix of forced liquidations and widespread rotation from risk assets, the cryptocurrency is now nearly 50% below its 2025 high of above $126,000. 

How Bitcoin options expiry could affect price

While many put options are already profitable, the majority of call options are far out of the money with max pain close to $80,000.This setup limits the usual pull toward the max pain level that sometimes appears around major expiries.

In simple terms, dealers and large traders have little incentive to push prices higher to protect call positions. At the same time, there is limited pressure to buy Bitcoin for hedging purposes. As a result, price action after the expiry may stay soft and follow the existing trend.

If selling pressure continues, the market could drift back toward nearby support levels rather than stage a strong rebound.

Analysts are watching the $60,000 area closely. This zone has acted as short-term support during recent sell-offs. A sustained break below it could deepen losses, while a firm hold may allow for a temporary bounce.

Bitcoin price technical analysis

Bitcoin has clearly broken below the 100-day moving average, which served as trend support for the majority of 2025.  Several recovery attempts failed near $83,000, showing strong selling interest at higher prices.

The price structure has now flipped lower following a range breakdown and a clear lower high. As Bitcoin fell below the lower Bollinger Band, the decline accelerated, suggesting disorderly selling rather than consistent profit-taking. 

The weakness is confirmed by momentum indicators. The relative strength index fell below levels observed in previous cycles, approaching 20. No bullish divergence has appeared, and many sessions closed near their lows. This suggests limited interest from dip buyers.

A former support zone around $75,000 failed to hold. With that area broken, attention has shifted to the $60,000 level as the next major psychological support.

If $60,000 holds on a daily close, short-term relief rallies could develop as selling pressure eases. In that case, price may move toward the $70,000 to $75,000 range, where past support has turned into resistance. Without a recovery above the 100-day average near $83,000, such moves would likely stay corrective.

If $60,000 breaks and price settles below it, the market could open the path toward the mid-$50,000 region. Under that scenario, downside momentum would remain intact, and sentiment-driven rebounds may struggle until the overall structure improves.

“It will get worse, it will get redder,” Charles Hoskinson warned.

Cardano’s ADA plunged by double digits in the past seven days, in line with the bloodbath that covered the entire crypto market.

The question now is whether the price is headed for a further slump or a much-needed recovery.

What’s Next?

On Friday morning, ADA nosedived to around $0.22 (per CoinGecko’s data), the lowest level since June 2023. The renowned analyst Ali Martinez outlined three important support levels where the asset could find buyers if the sell-off continues. The first line is $0.249, the second is $0.115, and the third is the extreme case at $0.053.

As shown in the chart below, there was a brief breakdown below the $0.249 support level, but bulls regained some lost ground, and ADA currently trades at approximately $0.26.

Some industry participants expect further recovery and even a major rally in the future. X user CryptoPatel claimed that ADA is at the exact level that triggered a huge pump years ago, wondering if history is about to repeat. They set a short-term target at $0.40, followed by a “full cycle extension” to above $3. However, the analyst warned that a weekly close below $0.10 would invalidate the setup.

X user Sssebi chipped in, too, noting that ADA has never been this oversold on the weekly timeframe in its entire history. According to CryptoWaves, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has fallen to around 28 on that scale, matching the lowest mark witnessed in 2019.

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The technical analysis tool measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes and can indeed help traders determine whether the asset is oversold or overbought. Ratios below 30 signal that the valuation has plunged too rapidly over a short period, suggesting it could be on the verge of a resurgence, while anything above 70 is considered a bearish zone.

ADA’s exchange netflow also hints that stabilization may be on the horizon. Data from CoinGlass shows that outflows have dominated inflows over the past several weeks and months, indicating that investors continue to move their holdings from centralized platforms to self-custody. This usually results in reduced selling pressure.

Hoskinson’s Crucial Losses

Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, reported losing over $3 billion due to the market decline. He predicted that the prices may continue plunging, but at the same time gave investors some inspirational guidance that may help them pass through the turbulent times:

“Don’t let the markets get you down. It will get worse, it will get redder, it is what it is. But at the end of the day, are you having fun? Find a way to. And know that each and every one of you in the cryptocurrency space, you are doing something that matters, you are doing something that has the potential to change the world.”

Veteran trader Peter Brandt said Bitcoin could be approaching a potential downside floor, arguing that past bear market patterns suggest losses may be limited from current levels.

“If Bitcoin digs into the banana peel as deeply as in past bear market cycles, then the bulls should not need to suffer too far south of $42,000,” Brandt wrote on X. “We are a hop, skip and jump from there.”

Brandt accompanied the post with a long-term Bitcoin (BTC) chart showing price action relative to what he describes as a “banana peel” support zone, a curved lower boundary that has historically contained Bitcoin’s deepest drawdowns.

Brandt’s “banana peel” metaphor refers to the slippery downside zone, where price can slide quickly but has historically struggled to sustain deep breaks below it.

In the current cycle, that lower boundary sits near the $42,000 level, implying Bitcoin may be nearing a historically significant area of support.

Brandt flags Bitcoin ‘campaign selling’ in prior warning

Brandt’s latest post follows a separate tweet from the previous day, in which he said Bitcoin’s recent price action appeared to reflect “campaign selling” rather than retail-driven capitulation.

In that earlier post, Brandt pointed to a multi-day pattern of lower highs and lower lows, suggesting that large, coordinated sellers may be driving the decline. He added that similar patterns have appeared in past market cycles, though timing a bottom remains uncertain.

Together, the two tweets frame a cautious outlook: further downside may be possible, but historical behavior could limit how far prices fall.

The comments come as Bitcoin continues to slide alongside a broader crypto market downturn, with prices under pressure across major digital assets. Major altcoins have followed Bitcoin lower, amplifying losses across the sector.

Vietnam is preparing to introduce a tax framework for cryptocurrency transactions that would align digital assets with securities trading, according to a draft policy circulated by the Ministry of Finance.

Under the proposal, individuals transferring crypto assets through licensed service providers would face a 0.1% personal income tax on the value of each transaction, local outlet The Hanoi Times reported. The structure mirrors the levy currently applied to stock trades in the country.

According to the report, the draft circular, released for public consultation, classifies crypto transfers and trading as exempt from value-added tax. However, the turnover-based tax would apply to investors regardless of residency status whenever a transfer is executed.

Companies operating in Vietnam would be taxed differently. Institutional investors earning income from crypto transfers would be subject to a 20% corporate income tax, calculated on profits after deducting purchase costs and related expenses, per the report.

Related: No companies apply for Vietnam crypto pilot amid high barriers

Vietnam formally defines crypto assets

Authorities also reportedly provided a formal definition of crypto assets, describing them as digital assets that rely on cryptographic or similar technologies for issuance, storage and transfer verification.

The draft also outlines strict requirements for operators. Firms seeking to run a digital asset exchange would need at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong (about $408 million) in charter capital, a threshold higher than that required for commercial banks and far above capital standards in many other industries. Foreign ownership would be permitted but capped at 49% of an exchange’s equity.

The proposed rules come as Vietnam began a five-year pilot program for a regulated crypto asset market launched in September 2025. On Oct. 6, 2025, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance confirmed that no companies had applied to participate in the five-year crypto pilot at that time, citing high capital requirements and strict eligibility conditions.

Related: Vietnam central bank expects credit growth amid rapid crypto adoption

Vietnam opens licensing for crypto exchanges

Last month, Vietnam started accepting applications for licenses to operate digital asset trading platforms, marking the operational launch of its planned pilot program for a regulated crypto market.