The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has fallen by about $2 trillion from its October 2025 peak of $4.38 trillion, according to data from CoinGecko. As of early February, the market is valued between $2.1 trillion and $2.3 trillion.
Large liquidations, exchange-traded fund withdrawals and reduced risk appetite in financial markets have all contributed to the recent decline. This sharp pullback has been matched by a collapse in market sentiment.
Periods like this are often linked to heavy selling in leveraged markets. When prices fall quickly, margin calls force traders to close positions. These forced exits add more pressure and can push prices even lower. As a result, losses tend to spread across major tokens in a short period.
$BTC is currently trading around 65900. Bearish momentum is likely weakening in the short term.
U.S. spot $BTC ETFs just logged another sharp outflow day, underscoring how fragile the current bid for digital assets has become even after a year of massive inflows. Total U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF net outflows reached ‑$544.94M on Feb. 4, according to data from SoSoValue, while cumulative net inflows still stand at a hefty $54.75B against total net assets of $93.51B, equivalent to about 6.36% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) again dominated activity, but this time on the exit side. The fund saw a one‑day net outflow of ‑$373.44M on Feb. 4, even as it retains a towering $56.21B in net assets and roughly $61.78B in cumulative net inflows. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) lost ‑$86.44M on the day, but still sits on $14.03B in net assets with $11.19B in cumulative inflows, trading essentially flat to NAV at a discount of just ‑0.20%.
Bearish sentiment continues to overshadow the market.
The sharp decline in the $BTC market was a classic example where a chain of forced liquidations drove prices down more than the news itself. Multiple waves of liquidations occurred within a short timeframe, causing prices to break through illiquid price levels in one fell swoop, pushing Bitcoin below $79,000.
Approximately $1.3 billion in liquidations were confirmed over the past 12 hours. This was not the result of a sudden surge in investors wanting to sell. It was the result of leverage being forcibly unwound. Liquidation is the mechanism where, in leveraged trading, when margin falls below the maintenance level, the exchange forcibly closes positions regardless of the investor's intent. The problem lies in how liquidations generate market orders, further accelerating price declines. Once started, liquidations trigger subsequent ones, spreading in a chain reaction.