Bitcoin tumbled to $64,161 on Monday after erasing weekend gains near $68,600, triggering $238 million in long liquidations as fresh US tariff threats rattled global markets.
The sell-off accelerated late Sunday after President Donald Trump vowed to impose a 15% blanket tariff on imports following a US Supreme Court ruling on trade measures, reversing earlier optimism that had briefly lifted sentiment.
Roughly $39.5 million in bullish bets were wiped out within four hours, contributing to more than $590 million in total crypto liquidations over 24 hours as leveraged traders were caught offside by the sharp reversal.
The decline intensified around 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 22 when bitcoin shed more than $3,000 in two hours to a session low near $64,258, with the price languishing at $64,161 by early Monday afternoon despite Strategy disclosing a $39.8 million bitcoin purchase.
Institutional flows also signalled caution as spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded a fifth consecutive week of net outflows totalling $316 million last week, extending cumulative withdrawals over five weeks to $3.8 billion.
On-chain data further unsettled traders after BlackRock moved more than 1,100 BTC to Coinbase in a transfer often associated with potential client redemptions, while an unverified report of an 11,300 BTC sale by a Satoshi-era whale coincided with heavier sell orders during Asian and European hours.
The renewed volatility underscores bitcoin’s sensitivity to macroeconomic shocks and geopolitical tensions, particularly as institutional participation deepens and leveraged positioning amplifies short-term price swings across the broader digital asset market.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $64,589.03.