Bitcoin Price Under Pressure After $1.03B Profit-Taking: Can Bulls Defend $80,700?

The Bitcoin price is facing renewed selling pressure after a sharp wave of profit-selling and long liquidations hit the market. Alongside the record ETF outflows, realized profits have added more upside pressure on the token. As a result, the levels have currently dropped to $82,542 after marking the local lows at $80,393. This sell-off has again brought the $80,700 support back in focus. The key question now is whether this is a short-term flush or the start of a deeper correction to $75,000. 

Bitcoin Faces Heavy Profit-Taking After Rally

Bitcoin’s recent move from $87,000 to $80,000 has allowed holders to lock in gains, and the selling that followed was unusually strong. The investors realized roughly $1.03 billion in profits, making the second-highest profit-taking of 2026, just below the year’s peak of around $1.04 billion. 

Santiment data showed that about 86% of the Bitcoin sent to exchanges around the recent move above $85,000 came from short-term holders transferring coins at profit. This suggests a large portion of the recent rally was met with active profit-taking rather than fresh accumulation. 

$1B in Long Liquidations Accelerate Bitcoin’s Decline

The profit-taking quickly split into the derivatives market as Bitcoin’s decline triggered a wave of forced liquidations. More than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated, with roughly $930 million coming from long positions, making it one of the largest long-side wipeouts in recent months. 

Bitcoin’s drop toward $80,400 forced leveraged traders to close positions as losses accelerated. More than $1 billion has been liquidated in the past 24 hours and close to $700 million in the past hour. The combination of heavy-profit taking and leveraged liquidations creates a potentially bearish feedback loop. 

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Can BTC Defend $80,000?

Bitcoin’s recent decline has brought the $80,700 to $81,000 zone into immediate focus. This area is pivotal because it sits close to the recent low and has attracted significant buying interest. Holding above it could give buyers room to stabilize the market after the liquidation-driven sell-off. 

A recovery above $82,000 would provide the first sign that selling pressure is easing, and from here it could retest the $85,000 region & $87,000 later. A failure to reclaim these levels would keep the short-term structure weak and leave BTC vulnerable to another move lower. If the price breaks below $80,700, $75,000 could emerge as the next major downside target. 

Can Bitcoin Repeat the October 2025 Crash?

The latest sell-off arrived ahead of the anniversary of the October 2025 crash, when roughly $19 billion in crypto positions were liquidated. However, the current liquidation event is only a fraction, and so there is not enough evidence to call this a repeat of the October 10 crash. Besides, the combination of heavy profit-taking and forced liquidations has removed a significant amount of leverage, while ETF outflows suggest demand still needs to recover before another sustained rally can develop. 

For now, the next move will largely depend on whether selling pressure continues after the recent flush. If Bitcoin (BTC) price stabilises, buyers return, and ETF inflows begin, momentum could rebuild and revisit the mid-$80,000 level before rising back to $87,000.