On January 31, 2026, the price of Bitcoin temporarily dropped below the $76,000 mark for the first time since April 2025. Following this, the cryptocurrency quickly rebounded to over $78,000. Due to sharp price fluctuations in the futures segment of the cryptocurrency market, significant liquidations occurred, totaling $2.58 billion. The main losses were incurred by traders who had opened long positions.
This is reported by Finway
Scale of Liquidations and Impact on Traders
Over the course of the day, holders of long positions across various digital assets lost $2.42 billion, while traders with short positions lost $162.8 million. In total, 435,344 traders reported losses. Liquidations in Ethereum and Bitcoin amounted to $1.15 billion and $785.98 million respectively.
At the beginning of October 2025, Bitcoin reached an all-time high, exceeding $125,000. However, a record wave of liquidations followed, surpassing $19 billion.
Analysts from The Kobeissi Letter referred to “today’s event as the 10th largest liquidation in the history of cryptocurrencies.”
Reasons for Market Decline and Investor Sentiment
Experts link the crash in the cryptocurrency market to a renewed government shutdown in the United States, caused by disagreements between the ruling parties over funding. The partial shutdown of government agencies currently has a limited impact, but its prolongation could lead to further negative consequences for the market.
It is worth noting that last year, the U.S. experienced the longest government shutdown in its history — 43 days.
The Fear and Greed Index in the cryptocurrency market has dropped to a level of 18 points, indicating panic among investors. Over the week, this indicator has nearly halved.
On the financial forecasting platform Kalshi, analysts expect further declines in Bitcoin’s price, potentially down to $59,000.
As of the time of preparing this material, Bitcoin is trading at $78,360, according to TradingView.
Earlier, it was reported that the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, which also influenced Bitcoin’s dynamics.