The crypto market took a hit on Wednesday as Bitcoin plunged more than $2,000 in under an hour, briefly falling to $61,460 before recovering above $64,000. The move pushed Bitcoin below $63,000 for the first time since 24 February and triggered over $1.1 billion in leveraged position liquidations across the broader market within 24 hours.
Ethereum fell harder on a percentage basis, dropping to around $1,732 as traders moved quickly to cut risk exposure across the board. The sell-off erased billions in market value and marked one of the most volatile trading sessions of 2026.
Institutional Selling Adds to Market Weakness
Abraxas Capital, a crypto investment firm, reportedly sold 2,469 Bitcoin worth around $166 million over the past 24 hours at an average price of $67,210, sending 1,469 Bitcoin to Kraken and withdrawing $22.7 million in USDC, according to on-chain tracking platform Hupzy.
The timing of the sales, into an already weakening market, added fresh pressure on supply at a vulnerable moment.
Separately, wallets linked to Mt. Gox transferred 116.3 Bitcoin worth approximately $8.16 million to Bitstamp, according to Lookonchain. The absolute amount is small relative to daily trading volumes, but any movement from Mt. Gox addresses draws attention, given persistent concerns about selling by creditors.
What Analysts Are Saying
Views on the significance of the decline are divided. Peter Schiff said that Bitcoin found temporary support near $61,000 and bounced over $2,000 from its lows, but questioned whether the recovery had enough conviction to hold.
Crypto analyst Wendy O took a longer view, reminding investors that Bitcoin has survived far deeper drawdowns in previous cycles, including the drop from above $5,000 to near $3,000.
Benjamin Cowen offered a more constructive medium-term case. He argued that capital could rotate back into Bitcoin once enthusiasm around major initial public offerings in traditional markets cools, with investors looking for the next opportunity and Bitcoin benefiting from that shift.
For now, Bitcoin has recovered from its session lows, but the combination of rising liquidations, institutional selling, and renewed fear has left sentiment fragile heading into the next trading day.