Why Bitcoin Price Plunged Below $104,000, To Lowest Price Since June

Bitcoin extended its week-long decline, falling to its lowest level since July, as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions and large capital outflows triggered another wave of liquidations across the cryptocurrency market.

According to crypto slate After trading around $112,000 at the beginning of the week, Bitcoin has fallen more than 5% in the past 24 hours to $103,300, according to the data. Ethereum also stalled, falling 9% to around $3,600.

Meanwhile, Binance’s BNB fell 11% to $1,048, while XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Tron, and Cardano each fell over 7% during the same period.

The selloff has led to approximately $1.18 billion in leveraged liquidations in the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass data. Notably, long traders speculating on a market rebound made most of the losses, losing about $917 million of the total.

This performance comes a week after the crypto market experienced a major sell-off that shook investor sentiment. On October 10, crypto investors lost nearly $20 billion after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on China.

What is the cause of Bitcoin’s recent price drop?

The sharp downturn in the market can be related to a combination of macro and structural factors affecting the crypto industry.

Analysts at Bitfinex said: crypto slate Markets are becoming increasingly responsive to geopolitical developments. They noted that President Trump’s approval of new tariffs deepened concerns about economic decoupling.

According to them:

“In the short term, we expect equity selling pressure to spill over into crypto, tightening liquidity and weighing on leveraged positions, resulting in sudden volatility. If the yield curve steepens and credit risk premiums widen, BTC could face some profit-taking before returning to an upward trajectory.”

Meanwhile, institutional investor sentiment also appears to be deteriorating, with spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recording combined outflows of around $600 million.

The U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF recorded $536 million in outflows on October 16, the largest single-day outflow since August, according to data from Soso Value.

Ark Invest’s ARKB led the outflows with $275.15 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC withdrew $132 million. Grayscale’s GBTC product and Grayscale Mini BTC product recorded outflows of $44.97 million and $22.52 million, respectively, while BlackRock’s IBIT recorded outflows of $29.37 million.

Other funds also saw small declines, including Bitwise’s BITB at $20.58 million and Van Eck’s HODL at $6.12 million.

Meanwhile, Invesco’s BTCO, Franklin Templeton’s EZBC, Valkyrie’s BRRR, and WisdomTree’s BTCW reported no net inflows during this period.

With this in mind, BRN Research Director Timothy Misil said: crypto slate “A temporary slump has turned into a structural headwind” due to shifts in ETF demand, he said.

He warned that if total redemptions exceed $1 billion within 48 hours, or if miner sales resume, Bitcoin could test the $96,000 area before stabilizing.