Bitcoin Plunges Below $61K, Triggering Over $600M in Long Liquidations

Bitcoin’s (BTC) brief plunge toward the $60,000 area triggered more than $600 million in long liquidations, raising doubts over whether the latest rebound marks a real bottom or only a relief bounce after a leverage flush.

BTC price may rebound toward $70,000 next

BTC fell to roughly $61,300 on Thursday before recovering 5.52% to around $64,690, with the rebound coinciding with reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a ceasefire.

BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The volatile move liquidated over $737 million in BTC positions on a 24-hour rolling basis, with long traders taking most of the hit, according to data resource CoinGlass.

BTC total liquidations. Source: CoinGlass

Over $617 million in long positions were wiped out, showing how aggressively bullish traders were positioned before the sell-off.

Still, Bitcoin’s sharp 5.52% rebound encouraged some traders to call for a bottom.

Trader RidaaXBT said BTC could stage a relief bounce toward the $69,000–$70,000 range, implying that the liquidation-driven selloff may have exhausted near-term sellers.

Related: Analyst says Bitcoin’s $60K bottom signals weaken bear-market forecast

Analyst ZordXBT shared a similar view, pointing to Bitcoin’s long downside wick as a sign that buyers stepped in aggressively near the lows.

Source: X

On the other hand, crypto trader Hitman42.eth warned that BTC bulls may be celebrating too early, noting that the Bitcoin bounce may end up trapping bulls.

Source: X

Bitcoin bear flag keeps $50K target in play

Bitcoin’s weekly chart still shows a bear flag breakdown in progress, keeping the risk of a deeper drop toward the $50,000–$52,000 area alive. The setup follows BTC’s failure to reclaim the flag’s upper trend line, with rising volumes adding weight to the downside move.

BTC/USD weekly chart. Source: TradingView

However, the bearish scenario is not confirmed as long as BTC trades above its 200-week simple moving average (200-week SMA, blue line) at around $61,800. This level has acted as a major cycle-bottom zone in past Bitcoin bear markets, including 2015, 2018 and 2020.

A strong rebound from the 200-week SMA would weaken, or potentially invalidate, the bear flag breakdown, putting BTC price in position to test $70,000 as the next upside target.