Bitcoin Nears Make-or-Break Support
Bitcoin’s price slipped under $63,000 during Asian trading hours on Tuesday, marking a new low not seen since February 6. The cryptocurrency stabilized near $63,200 but remains down about 4% over the last 24 hours. This brings Bitcoin’s weekly decline to nearly 7%, with the asset now trading at levels where buyers previously stepped in after a sharp drop earlier in the year.
Market participants are watching the $60,000 level closely, as this has been identified by Kraken’s Matt Howells-Barby as a critical support zone. A decisive break below could trigger another wave of liquidations and potentially push prices down to $52,500—a historical support area dating back to 2021.
BTC has now fallen for four consecutive days, reaching $63,100 at its lowest point since February 6.
Market Nerves as Liquidation Looms
The recent selloff has not been limited to Bitcoin alone. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) tumbled by 11.5% over the past 24 hours, while other cryptocurrencies like SUI, JUP, PUMP, and WLFI each dropped more than 2%. The broader crypto market is feeling the strain as nearly half of Bitcoin’s value has evaporated since its October peak.
A break below $60,000 could set off another round of forced selling for leveraged traders.
On paper, Bitcoin’s resilience above $60,000 looks promising for bulls. But with over 400,000 BTC purchased between $60,000 and $70,000 during the latest downturn—according to Glassnode data—the pain threshold for many recent buyers is being tested. If prices fall further, these holders may be forced to sell at a loss, accelerating downward momentum.
Pippin Frenzy Highlights Speculation Risks
While Bitcoin struggles to hold key support levels, speculative fervor continues elsewhere in the market. Pippin (PIPPIN), an AI-generated memecoin launched on Solana by Yohei Nakajima, surged by 135% over the last four weeks and gained another 10% in just 24 hours. LunarCrush noted that Pippin’s rally is fueled by aggressive speculation and rapid growth in market capitalization.
Some social media accounts have gone further, alleging that Pippin’s price action may involve money laundering and artificial price manipulation. Despite these concerns—and warnings about frothy trading conditions—traders continue to pour into high-risk tokens even as flagship assets like Bitcoin falter.
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Institutional Demand Falters, Premium Turns Negative
The mood among institutional investors appears cautious. CryptoQuant reports that the Coinbase Premium Index—a measure comparing prices on Coinbase (a U.S.-focused exchange popular with institutions) versus global averages—has remained negative throughout this downturn. This suggests that large U.S.-based buyers are not stepping up to accumulate Bitcoin at current prices.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s weekly relative strength index (RSI) has dropped to just 25.71 on Tuesday, signaling one of its most oversold conditions ever recorded.
Bitcoin’s Pain Cluster: $60K-$70K Buyers
More than 400,000 BTC were accumulated between $60,000 and $70,000 during this year’s rally and subsequent decline. For these holders—many of whom entered near local highs—the current retreat below $63,000 threatens significant realized losses if they capitulate now. Glassnode data shows that short-term holder realized profit/loss metrics have turned negative: the STH-SOPR ratio sits at just 0.95 after peaking above 1 earlier this year.
According to cointelegraph.com, realized losses for short-term holders cooled from a peak of $1.24 billion per day on February 6 to around $500 million per day recently—a sign that some exhaustion may be setting in among sellers. However, with the dollar index (DXY) rising by 0.5% since Monday and macroeconomic uncertainty increasing following President Trump’s announcement of a new 15% global tariff over the weekend, risk appetite could remain subdued for now.
History offers little comfort: Bitcoin rarely forms a lasting bottom until its long-term moving averages cross decisively—a pattern not yet confirmed in current price action.
What to watch
If Bitcoin breaks below the $60,000 support level—identified by Kraken’s Matt Howells-Barby and coinciding with over 400,000 BTC bought in that range—another round of liquidations could be triggered, potentially pushing prices down to the historical support at $52,500; whether this threshold holds remains unclear.