Bitcoin tumbles toward $77K on heavy liquidations as Fed caution stokes volatility
Bitcoin fell from the mid-$80Ks toward $77,000 as waves of futures liquidations and intensified selling pressure hit crypto markets. The move was driven by growing concern over cautious, relatively hawkish Federal Reserve communications and mixed US inflation signals that left traders uncertain about the timing of rate cuts. Forced deleveraging in perpetual and futures markets amplified intraday swings, raised funding rates, and pushed some leveraged positions into liquidation. The decline coincided with broader risk-off flows in equities and crypto, reducing on-chain activity tied to speculative positions and prompting some investors to seek stablecoins and safer assets. Short-term indicators point to elevated volatility, higher funding costs and unwinding open interest — increasing liquidation risk for traders using leverage. Analysts say macro cues, notably US monetary policy and liquidity conditions, are currently the primary drivers of BTC price action, while longer-term fundamentals such as institutional adoption and supply dynamics remain supportive. For traders: reduce leverage, widen or respect stop levels, monitor Fed commentary and key macro prints closely, and watch funding rates and open interest for signs of further churn.
Bearish
The consolidated reports highlight a short-term bearish outlook for BTC. Heavy futures and perpetual liquidations, rising funding rates, and unwinding open interest indicate active deleveraging that typically pressures price further in the near term. Fed caution and mixed macro prints increase uncertainty around future liquidity and rate paths, which amplifies risk-off flows away from risk assets like Bitcoin. For traders, this implies heightened likelihood of further downside or choppy sideways action until clearer signals on US monetary policy and liquidity arrive. Over the longer term, supportive fundamentals (institutional adoption, constrained supply dynamics) remain, which can limit the scope of permanent decline; however, near-term trading conditions favor de-risking, tighter risk management, and lower leverage to avoid forced liquidations.