Bitcoin drops below $65,000, with multiple macro shocks triggering nearly $360 million in long liquidations

Deep Tide TechFlow News, February 23 — According to The Block, Bitcoin sharply dropped from $67,600 to around $64,700 on Sunday evening, a decline of over 4% within two hours. Other major cryptocurrencies also declined simultaneously, with ETH down 5.77% in 24 hours to $1,861, XRP down 6.42% to $1.33, and SOL down 8.3% to $77.6. According to CoinGlass heatmap data, approximately $360 million in long positions were liquidated within an hour.

BTC Markets crypto analyst Rachael Lucas stated that this decline was triggered by multiple macro shocks layered on an already fragile market. Specifically, the killing of Mexico’s largest drug cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera sparked widespread violence, leading several international airlines to suspend flights to Mexico; U.S. existing home sales in January decreased by 0.8% month-over-month, hitting a record low of 70.9 since 2001; and Trump announced an increase in global tariffs from 10% to 15%, further suppressing market risk appetite. Kronos Research Chief Investment Officer Vincent Liu also pointed out that the yen surged due to expectations that the Bank of Japan might further tighten monetary policy, forcing some funds to deleverage and intensifying the sell-off of global risk assets.

Lucas noted that Bitcoin had experienced five consecutive weeks of net ETF fund outflows, with spot trading volume down 59% week-over-week, indicating that market liquidity was already insufficient to withstand such shocks. Meanwhile, over the past month, whale addresses have accumulated an additional 200,000 BTC, and Bitcoin’s short-term Sharpe ratio has reached -38.38, close to cycle lows seen in 2015, 2019, and 2022, after which significant rebounds occurred. Analysts generally believe that the advancement of the CLARITY Act, renewed ETF inflows, or easing macro uncertainties will be key catalysts for market stabilization.