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Bitcoin (BTC) has plunged below $98,000 in a market-wide selloff, retreating from its recent high of $102,700 reached earlier today.
BTC’s price drop of more than 4% over the past 24 hours mirrors broader weakness across the crypto market, with Ethereum (ETH) falling over 6% and most altcoins posting similar losses.
Today’s liquidations further challenge Bitcoin’s efforts to sustain its position above $100,000. After falling below $100,000 on 19 December, Bitcoin has faced challenges in breaking past this key level.
Here’s a look at what caused today’s sudden drop after briefly surging above $102,000.
Technical analysts warn of deeper BTC correction
Multiple analysts are pointing to key price levels after BTC’s retreat from the $102,000-$103,000 resistance zone.
Technical analyst Rekt Capital had earlier tweeted that $101,165 was a crucial level to watch. He noted that BTC needs to close above this mark on the daily timeframe to confirm a successful retest. In his latest report, Rekt Capital also highlighted that $93,200 was a key support level based on quarterly and monthly chart analysis.
The current market structure also fits into Bitcoin’s four-year cycle pattern, according to Rekt’s analysis, noting: “A new 4-Year Cycle has begun. Candle 4 has come to an end, and a new Candle 1 has begun.”
Rekt Capital also mentioned that, while more upside moves may lie ahead, this marks the final year of the current bull run before the anticipated 2026 bear market.
The overall crypto market has followed BTC’s slump, with the total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropping 4.99% to $3.44trillion. ETH fell to the $3,482 level, while other altcoins like BNB and Solana (SOL) posted losses of over 3% and 5%, respectively.
Long position traders lost $330.59m in the past 24 hours, while short positions accounted for $50.86m in liquidations, according to Coinglass data. The total liquidations reached $381.45m during this period.
The past hour saw $13.24m in positions cleared from exchanges, split between $7.07m in longs and $6.17m in shorts. BTC led the hourly liquidations at $4.97m, with ETH following at $4.83m.
In the past 24 hours, nearly 130,000 traders were liquidated; the total liquidations come in at over $384m. The largest single liquidation order happened on Binance, as ETH saw nearly $17m liquidation.
Bitcoin’s RSI is a key indicator
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a technical indicator used to measure the speed and magnitude of an asset’s recent price changes to evaluate whether it is overbought or oversold. It is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100, with levels above 70 typically indicating overbought conditions and levels below 30 signaling oversold conditions.
An RSI near 65 suggests Bitcoin is still in bullish territory but approaching overbought levels, even after today’s 5% drop.
When RSI is near 65, it reflects strong momentum in Bitcoin’s price over recent sessions, showing that buyers have dominated the market. However, the decline may indicate weakening momentum, as sellers begin to balance or exceed buying pressure.
Traders often use the RSI in conjunction with other indicators, like support and resistance levels, to assess whether Bitcoin’s price might face further corrections or consolidate before its next move.
JOLTs report and its impact on crypto markets
The latest U.S. jobs data released today shows the labor market remains strong. This could potentially affect Federal Reserve policy decisions and crypto prices. The JOLTs Job Openings report revealed eight million openings in November, up from October’s 7.8 million and well above the expected 7.7 million forecast by analysts.
Job openings increased notably across several sectors, with professional and business services adding 273,000 positions, finance and insurance growing by 105,000, and private educational services expanding by 38,000.
This strength in the labor market suggests the Federal Reserve may maintain higher interest rates for longer than markets previously expected.
BTC’s price quite often moves in response to economic indicators that might influence Fed decisions, as higher rates typically pressure risk assets. The strong job data arrives as BTC was already dealing with technical resistance near the $102,000 level.
