Bitcoin dropped below the key $70,000 level on Friday as geopolitical tensions and weak economic data from the United States triggered a sharp market sell-off.
The cryptocurrency had traded within a narrow range between $70,000 and $71,000 earlier in the session before heavy selling pressure pushed the price lower.
Within roughly two hours, bitcoin slid from around $70,131 to near $68,300 as traders reacted to growing global uncertainty.
A brief attempt to recover followed the drop, but continued selling forced the asset down to a session low of about $67,753.
The correction erased the gains bitcoin had recorded earlier in the week during heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Bitcoin’s market capitalisation fell below the $1.4 trillion level, returning to levels recorded before the conflict escalated.
The broader cryptocurrency market also declined, with the total digital asset market losing roughly 2.7 percent in value over the past 24 hours.
By the end of the trading period, the global crypto market valuation had slipped to approximately $2.41 trillion.
Analysts noted that bitcoin moved in line with falling global equity markets, weakening the argument that the asset trades independently from traditional finance.
At the same time, investors shifted toward traditional safe-haven assets, pushing gold prices about one percent higher during the market turbulence.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East remains one of the main factors affecting investor sentiment across global markets.
The situation has now entered its seventh day and has begun influencing commodity prices and broader economic expectations.
Energy markets reacted strongly, with Brent crude oil rising to around $94 per barrel after trading near $70 only days earlier.
Rising energy costs have already begun affecting consumers, particularly in the United States where petrol prices have increased sharply.
European markets are also feeling the pressure as electricity prices rise alongside volatile natural gas costs.
Alongside geopolitical developments, fresh economic data from the United States added further strain to investor confidence.
New figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that American employers cut more jobs than they created last month.
The unexpected data raised concerns about slowing economic growth in the world’s largest economy.
Economists say the combination of rising energy prices and weakening labour demand increases the risk of a stagflation scenario.
Such conditions could limit the Federal Reserve’s ability to lower interest rates quickly despite signs of a cooling economy.
As the crypto market declined, heavily leveraged traders were caught off guard by the sudden price movement.
Data from Coinglass showed that the crypto market recorded roughly $329 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin accounted for about $160 million of those liquidations as positions were automatically closed during the decline.
Long traders suffered the majority of the losses, with approximately $133 million in bitcoin long positions wiped out.
Across the broader market, total liquidated long positions reached roughly $257 million during the same period.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $68,157.93.