Bitcoin’s price crashed sharply on Thursday, sliding through critical support and dipping near $66,000 in volatile trading — marking what appears to be the largest absolute dollar drawdown on record for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
The latest plunge comes during a broader global risk-off sell-off, with equities, commodities and digital assets all under pressure. Major U.S. and Asian stock indices weakened on economic growth concerns and inflation data, reinforcing flight-to-safety flows that have cascaded through leveraged risk assets.
Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak — above $126,000 on major exchanges — now sits roughly $59,000 above today’s lows, a drop unprecedented in raw dollar terms.
While previous drawdowns have been steeper on a percentage basis, the sheer scale of this retreat in nominal USD terms eclipses the declines seen in 2018, 2022 and other major corrections, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.
By comparison, historic price cycles saw drops from roughly $20,000 to $3,000 in 2018 or from $69,000 to $15,000 in 2022 — both sizeable percentage falls but involving smaller absolute dollar moves than the current contraction.
Analysts now describe the decline as the largest dollar value drawdown in Bitcoin’s history.
Bitcoin price’s broader crypto market drivers
Broader markets faced a sharp sell-off this week, with risk assets across the board under pressure. U.S. equities tumbled, led by the Nasdaq, which felt the brunt of disappointing earnings forecasts and cooling sentiment in the tech sector.
Speculative commodities, including silver, plunged double digits, reflecting widespread deleveraging. Bitcoin’s slide below key technical support levels intensified forced liquidations and panic selling, contributing to a broader crypto downturn.
The total cryptocurrency market lost over $500 billion in value over the past week, with nearly all major tokens posting significant declines.
Adding to the momentum, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded sustained net outflows, reversing the influx of institutional capital that buoyed markets in 2025.
Public firms with significant Bitcoin exposure, including major holders like Strategy, have seen equity valuations collapse alongside BTC, raising questions about balance sheet stress and future liquidity.
Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the House Financial Services Committee that the U.S. government has no authority to “bail out” bitcoin or direct banks to buy BTC.
Rep. Brad Sherman pressed him on whether regulators could intervene like they did during the 2008 financial crisis, but Bessent rejected the idea outright.
He said that the government’s only bitcoin price exposure comes from law enforcement seizures, not taxpayer-funded investments.