Yeliz Akmaca 
Bitcoin briefly slipped below $60,000 following roughly $700 million in liquidations triggered by a sharp selloff in Asian markets, before staging a fast recovery back above $65,000.
Toward the U.S. market close, BTC first dropped 4.8% to around $60,033. The selling failed to deepen. Buyers stepped in. Price quickly climbed to $65,926.
The move came just one day after Thursday’s 13% plunge, Bitcoin’s steepest daily loss since November 2022.
$700 Million in Liquidations Rocked the Market
According to CoinGlass data, roughly $700 million in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out in just the last four hours.
Of that total:
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$530 million came from long positions
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$170 million from shorts
The mix shows traders were hit hard on the way down — then caught on the wrong side again during the rebound. In other words, market direction was driven less by conviction and more by aggressive leverage.
The $60,000 level acted as a psychological floor traders had been watching for weeks. Spot buyers stepped in around that zone, igniting the bounce.
Damien Loh, Chief Investment Officer at Ericsenz Capital, said the area signals strong technical support, but warned that overall market sentiment remains fragile.
Altcoins Followed — Solana Recovered Losses Within Hours
Bitcoin’s turbulence spread across the broader crypto market.
Solana, for example, fell as much as 14% intraday, only to erase those losses within hours. The rapid reversal highlighted how quickly risk appetite can shift when liquidity tightens.
Since October’s liquidation cascades, crypto markets have already been unstable. The latest drop intensified as global markets turned risk-off. Investors dumped speculative assets — and crypto was pulled into the same current.
Strategy Reports $12.4 Billion Quarterly Loss
Bitcoin’s pullback is now showing up on corporate balance sheets.
Michael Saylor–led Strategy said Thursday it posted a $12.4 billion net loss for Q4, driven by markdowns on its Bitcoin holdings.
Price volatility is no longer hitting just traders. It’s landing directly on institutions.
Fear Index Falls to 9: “Extreme Fear” Territory
Despite the rebound, psychology remains under pressure.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 9, flashing “extreme fear.” The index stood at 12 a day earlier, 16 last week, and 42 last month — a sharp slide that shows how quickly investors shifted from cautious to defensive.
The index blends volatility, volume, momentum, social media activity, Bitcoin dominance, and Google Trends data. It’s designed to measure sentiment, not predict price.
Right now, the signal is clear: the market is operating in “sell first, think later” mode.
Does Extreme Fear Signal a Bottom?
In past cycles, extreme fear often aligned with local bottoms, largely because panic flushes out leveraged traders and short-term speculators.
But it’s not a rule.
The index should be read as a snapshot of stress, not a timing tool.
While Bitcoin rebounded from near $60,000 to $65,000, current data suggests the market is still being driven by leverage rather than conviction — pointing to elevated volatility in the days ahead.
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