Bitcoin fell below $77,000 on Friday as fears over a suspected security breach at Binance accelerated a sell-off that forced nearly $1.5 billion in leveraged cryptocurrency positions to close.
The largest digital asset traded around $76,664 late Thursday, down roughly 4.5% over 24 hours, after repeatedly failing to hold $80,000.
The decline followed Binance’s disclosure of a potential security issue and an industry-wide effort to freeze linked assets.
Bullish traders bore most of the damage. With Bitcoin testing long-term support, attention is turning to whether $75,000, and eventually $73,000, could come into view.
Bitcoin price crash: Binance scare triggers $1.5 billion liquidation wave
Binance said Thursday that it was investigating a potential security incident, prompting industry partners to freeze billions of dollars in associated assets. It said customer funds were safe, but uncertainty spread.
CoinGlass figures showed $1.49 billion in cryptocurrency derivatives liquidations within 24 hours, including $1.29 billion in bullish bets. More than 243,000 traders were affected.
Bitcoin accounted for approximately $475 million of the total, with bullish positions representing nearly 88%. These figures measure forced closures of leveraged trades, not losses in Bitcoin’s total market value.
When prices fall far enough, exchanges automatically close positions that no longer have sufficient collateral. Those sales can drive prices lower and trigger another round of liquidations.
“Market recovery hinges on Binance restoring confidence in exchange security and customer funds,” Zeus Research analyst Dominick John told The Block.
The ultimate extent of the breach remains uncertain. But the effect on market positioning was immediate: traders who had expected a recovery above $80,000 were caught on the wrong side of an accelerating decline.
Bitcoin price today: Why $77,000 matters for Bitcoin’s next move
The break below $77,000 has brought an important technical marker into focus. CryptoQuant research head Julio Moreno identified Bitcoin’s 365-day moving average near $77,406 as an initial support area.
Bitcoin subsequently slipped beneath that level, putting buyers under pressure to defend the broader $76,300 to $77,000 region. Holding that range could help stabilise prices after the liquidation wave, but an extended loss would increase attention on $75,000.
Below that, analyst Ali Martinez is watching the 200-day moving average near $73,000, a deeper potential support level.
“Those are levels where I’ll look for support; not guaranteed bottoms,” Martinez said.
That qualification matters, as moving averages can attract buyers, but they do not prevent prices from falling, particularly when forced selling overwhelms normal trading activity.
On the upside, regaining $80,000 would be a first sign that sellers are losing control. A sustained recovery towards $82,000 would offer stronger evidence of demand returning.
Until then, the swift reversal from above $80,000 leaves Bitcoin vulnerable to another test of lower prices.
Bitcoin below $77,000: Inflation and interest rates deepen the pressure
The Binance scare struck as investors were already reassessing riskier assets. The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday , leaving open the possibility of further tightening.
September’s US personal consumption expenditures inflation rose to 3.6% annually, from 3.4% in August, reinforcing concerns that borrowing costs may remain elevated.
Higher yields can strengthen the dollar and reduce the appeal of speculative assets, including Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin’s near-term performance may depend more heavily on Treasury yields, dollar movements and broader risk sentiment,” Bitget analyst Lewis Huang told Cointelegraph before the Binance incident.
There is a counterpoint. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted $137 million on Wednesday, extending a three-day inflow streak to about $424 million.
However, those figures preceded the latest plunge and do not establish that investors continued buying during Friday’s sell-off.
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