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- Steve Muchoki
Steve Muchoki
- Feb 03, 2026 22:07 UTC
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Bitcoin Price Hits $72.8k, Bitwise CIO Turns Bearish; Is Sub-$70k Next?
The Bitcoin price has lost a key support level around $80k, forcing out leveraged long traders.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan stated that Bitcoin is in a macro bear market amid robust fundamentals.
Given the current liquidity, the Bitcoin price is likely to drop further before the imminent macro bull rally.
Bitcoin (BTC) price has led the wider crypto market in a further selloff. After slipping below its crucial buy zone around $80k last week, Bitcoin price extended its selloff today to hit $72,889 on Tuesday, February 3, for the first time since the first week of November.
Bitcoin Price Falls on Leverage Flashouts
As such, more than 167k leveraged traders were flashed out, with more than $730 million liquidated during the past 24 hours. Out of this, more than $528 million involved long traders, amid the notable decline in Bitcoin’s Open Interest (OI).
According to market data analysis from CoinGlass, Bitcoin’s OI has continued to shrink since the October 11 crypto capitulation to hover about $52.7 billion at press time.
Source: Coinglass
Bitwise CIO Issues Cautionary Note
Following today’s BTC price capitulation to $72k today, Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO, stated that the flagship coin is under the influence of a multi-month bear market. Hougan stated that the Bitcoin price has been in a bear market since early 2025, but the high institutional adoption and regulatory clarity have blinded investors.
“This is not a bull market correction or a dip. It is a full-bore, 2022-like, Leonardo-DiCaprio-in-The-Revenant-style crypto winter set into motion by factors ranging from excess leverage to widespread profit-taking by OGs,” Hougan stated.
What’s Next?
Hougan, however, stated that the Bitcoin bottom is closer as its four-year bear cycle is in the last phase. Moreover, Hougan believes that Bitcoin investors are banking on regulatory progress and high institutional adoption, to drive a bullish rebound ahead.
Source: X
Nonetheless, onchain data from Santiment shows that key Bitcoin investors have been aggressively selling while retail buys-back, a classic sell signal. From a technical analysis standpoint, if Bitcoin buyers fail to defend $73k in the coming day, a further correction towards $69k will be inevitable.
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