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.
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
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.
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.
CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Dave Weisberger, co-founder of CoinRoutes and the man who built Morgan Stanley's first program trading…
Coinbase has taken its fight against crypto debanking to Australia's parliament, filing a formal complaint…
Recently the prices across the altcoin market remain under pressure. Yet a major institutional catalyst…
The crypto market is under pressure again, with prices sliding sharply during the latest trading…
Crypto.com is spinning off its prediction market business into a standalone platform called OG, and…
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said the blockchain’s long-standing approach to scaling through layer-2 networks needs…
