Bitcoin Price Crash: Why is BTC Down Today?

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has shed most of the gains it accrued in early trading hours after the industry faced another major hack event. Bitcoin price, on pace to breach the $100,000 price mark, is now fighting to hold the $96,000 support zone.

Bitcoin Price Rise and Fall

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price dropped slightly below the $96,000 mark. Per data from CoinMarketCap, BTC’s price changed hands for $95,885, down by 2.23% in the past 24 hours. There is a high level of volatility around this price level as the coin dropped from a daily high of $99,497.96 to a low of $95,829.33.

While the coin has not dropped below $90,000 since it crossed that level in mid-November 2024, it also finds the $100,000 resistance level hard to breach. However, BTC price generally reclaims its All-Time High (ATH) at least once a month, a trend it has not repeated in February.

Despite the early signs of recovery, an earlier CoinGape BTC price analysis shows a cautious signal in the coin’s trend. This later proved true as the coin quickly gave up its over 5% gains earlier.

Per current market data, the digital currency has robust liquidity in the market, with trading volume up 45.7% to $45.02 billion. This indicates that the Bitcoin price has the right market conditions to pick a rebound.

What Caused the BTC Price Selloff

Things were normal in the market until Bybit suffered a wallet exploit. The top digital currency trading platform lost over $1.4 billion in Ethereum (ETH). This exploit is considered one of the biggest in the crypto ecosystem’s history.

This hack reversed Ethereum’s growth and triggered an unexpected panic in the broader market. Meanwhile, the Bybit hack occurred when Coinbase shared an update on its case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As the trading platform detailed, the SEC staff has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit. While this is still subject to the commission’s approval, it helped buffer the Bybit hack. This helped cushion the Bitcoin price selloff from dropping below the $90,000 mark.

What Next for Bitcoin?

The price of Bitcoin remains the major performance gauge in the crypto market. BTC has suffered an intense drawdown in the past, and on all occasions, market bulls helped it plot a rebound.

Many catalysts will fuel its potential growth in the short term. The institutional adoption hype remains, with Strategy planning a purchase worth $2 billion following its latest private debt offering.

In addition, the nation-state engagement of the coin has also placed it in the spotlight, with demand exceeding supply.