$1.8B liquidated as Bitcoin erases 2026 gains

Bitcoin fell below $88,000 after a fresh sell-off wiped out all gains made so far this year.

More than $1.8 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over the past 48 hours, with long trades accounting for the majority.

The drop pushed Bitcoin below its 50-day exponential moving average, ending its recent technical support.

Total crypto market capitalisation fell by about $225 billion, marking the sharpest decline since mid-November.

Analysts linked the sell-off to renewed US tariff threats and stress in Japan’s government bond market.

“The wipeout is being driven by complete annihilation in Japanese bond markets infecting all markets,”

Dan Tapiero said.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said bond market volatility, not geopolitics, was behind the broader market slide.

Japanese 10-year and 30-year bond yields surged sharply as investors priced in higher spending and tighter liquidity.

Analysts warned that an unwind of global carry trades could further drain liquidity from risk assets like crypto.

“Bitcoin is being sold due to its sensitivity to liquidity conditions despite its similarities to hard assets,”

Jeff Ko said.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $89,727.47.