MUMBAI
Bitcoin faced a major setback on Wednesday, briefly falling below the $100,000 mark as global markets experienced heavy selling. The world’s largest cryptocurrency plunged 3.7 percent to trade at $101,822 after touching an intra-day low of $99,010 — its weakest level since June.
The sudden drop was part of a wider sell-off in risk assets, as investors grew anxious about overvalued markets and weakening risk appetite. Ethereum fell 6.76 percent to $3,331, Solana dipped 3.16 percent to $157, XRP dropped 3.16 percent to $2.24, and Dogecoin slid 1.47 percent to $0.165.
Bitcoin has now officially entered a bear market, falling more than 20 percent from its record high of $126,186 reached in early October. Data from analytics firm CoinGlass showed that over $1.27 billion worth of leveraged positions were liquidated this week, mainly long bets. In total, nearly $2 billion in crypto positions were wiped out in the past 24 hours.
Market analysts reported that open interest in Bitcoin futures remains low, while traders are increasingly betting on further declines, with some predicting a fall toward $80,000.
The slump in Bitcoin coincided with sharp declines across global equity markets. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones dropped 251 points, the S&P 500 fell 80 points, and the Nasdaq plunged 486 points as fears of an AI-driven tech bubble spooked investors.
Experts say the correction in crypto reflects global caution, as markets prepare for a pullback after months of optimism around AI and digital assets.