Bitcoin’s (BTC) strong start to the year has been fully erased, with its price slipping to a new yearly low below $84,000. Analysts viewed this move as part of a broader corrective phase rather than a structural market breakdown, driven by aggressive futures deleveraging rather than sustained selling in spot markets.
Key takeaways:
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BTC fell to $83,400 and traded at the lower limit of the 10-week consolidation range that has capped its price since Q4.
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Bitcoin taker sell volume spiked to about $4.1 billion over just two hours, suggesting futures-driven flows rather than spot selling.
Futures liquidations send BTC to new lows
The latest drop keeps Bitcoin trapped inside a 10-week range that has defined price action since Nov. 17, 2025, with weekly closes capped from $94,000 to $84,000. That structure is now being tested again as BTC trades near levels last seen in early December, raising the risk of a deeper move if buyers fail to defend current support.
Bitcoin one-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewSelling pressure intensified during the New York trading session, with Bitcoin sliding nearly 4.4% to $83,400 from $88,000. The move wiped $570 million in long positions, underscoring how leveraged the market was before the dip.
CryptoQuant data showed the pressure was concentrated and aggressive. Bitcoin taker sell volume surged to about $4.1 billion in two hours across all exchanges, pointing to forced selling rather than gradual spot distribution.
Bitcoin Taker Sell Volume. Source: CryptoQuantOnchain tracker Lookonchain highlighted the impact on a prominent trader, noting:
Related: Bitcoin rallies expected to be short-lived until liquidity returns: Data
Analysts see a corrective regime, not a structural breakdown
From a technical standpoint, BTC has already tested the $83,800 level, but the failure to sustain a rebound from that zone keeps downside risks in focus. The abrupt sell-off has led some analysts to project a deeper correction, with potential downside targets shifting toward the November low near $80,600.
Bitcoin one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewMarket analyst CryptoZeno said the recent quarterly performance signals a shift in Bitcoin’s market structure. After a strong expansion phase in mid-2025, returns have been negative, down 26% since last July.
Derivatives metrics reinforce this view. On multiple occasions, 8% to 10% declines in futures open interest have coincided with clear local Bitcoin price lows, including the late-February to March 2025 dip near the mid-$80,000, the early-April 2025 cycle low around $78,000 to $80,000, and the mid-November 2025 bottom near $85,000 to $88,000.
These repeated alignments point to aggressive leverage unwinding, marking downside exhaustion rather than trend continuation.
BTC futures open interest percent change oscillator. Source: CryptoQuantRelated: Single Bitcoin entity keeping BTC price ‘suppressed’ below $90K: Analysis
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