Bitcoin Slides Below Key Support as Liquidations Hit Crypto and Cross-Asset Markets

If you’re a crypto trader and you slept through the weekend, you missed the kind of market action that makes you question your life choices. Bitcoin, the perennial poster child for volatility, just snapped below a critical support level, triggering a cascade of liquidations and sending cross-asset risk sentiment into a tailspin. At 23:30 UTC on February 1, 2026, Bitcoin is trading at $76,601, down sharply from last week’s highs. The headline from newsbtc.com says it all: 'Bitcoin Breaks Key Support, Analyst Signals Lower Levels Ahead.' The market is not just wobbling. It’s convulsing.

The sell-off didn’t limit itself to the digital asset sandbox. Silver joined the party, and stock futures followed suit, with CNBC reporting that 'questions loom over AI trade' as risk-off flows ripple through every corner of the global casino. Ethereum is under FTX-era stress, with negative funding rates and forced liquidations reminiscent of the darkest days of 2022. If you’re looking for a safe haven, you’re out of luck—gold is flashing warning signs too, according to news.bitcoin.com.

Let’s talk data. At press time, Bitcoin is at $76,601, having breached a previous low that had underpinned the rally for months. The technicals are ugly: the break below support has invalidated the bullish structure that had traders eyeing $80,000 and beyond. Instead, we’re staring down the barrel of a market-wide deleveraging, with forced sellers and risk managers scrambling to plug holes in their portfolios. Liquidations have spiked across major exchanges, and funding rates have flipped negative—a classic sign of panic unwinding. Ethereum, meanwhile, is experiencing its own existential crisis, with AMBCrypto calling it 'structural deleveraging.'

Cross-asset correlations are reasserting themselves with a vengeance. The risk-off move in crypto is mirrored by weakness in silver and a pullback in stock futures. The AI trade, which had been the darling of risk-on sentiment, is suddenly looking vulnerable. The narrative that crypto is an uncorrelated asset is, once again, exposed as a myth when the real selling starts. The only thing that seems to be working is cash—and even that feels suspect when liquidity is draining from every corner of the market.

Zooming out, this is not just a crypto story. It’s a story about liquidity, leverage, and the fragility of risk assets in a world where the Treasury General Account (TGA) is draining $64.3 billion from markets, as Seeking Alpha points out. Liquidity conditions are tightening, and the marginal buyer is nowhere to be found. The sell-off in Bitcoin is both a symptom and a cause of broader market stress. When the largest, most liquid crypto asset can’t hold support, it’s a signal that risk appetite is evaporating across the board.

The absurdity of the current moment is hard to overstate. We have a market that spent months pricing in AI-driven growth, institutional adoption of crypto, and a soft landing for the global economy. Now, all it takes is a break of one technical level in Bitcoin to send the whole edifice wobbling. The algos don’t care about your narrative. They care about margin calls, and right now, they’re in charge.

Strykr Watch

Technically, Bitcoin is in no man’s land. The break below $77,000 was the line in the sand for bulls. Next support sits at $74,000, with a potential air pocket down to $70,000 if liquidations accelerate. Resistance is now stacked at $78,500 and $80,000—levels that will attract aggressive selling on any bounce. Ethereum is flirting with the $3,000 handle, a psychological level that, if breached, could trigger another round of forced selling. Funding rates remain negative, and open interest is dropping fast, signaling that the market is still in the process of flushing out excess leverage.

The RSI on Bitcoin has plunged into oversold territory, but in a liquidation-driven market, that’s cold comfort. Momentum indicators are flashing red, and the order book is thin on the bid side. Any attempt at a relief rally is likely to be met with a wall of supply from traders desperate to get out with their shirts intact. The path of least resistance is lower until proven otherwise.

Liquidity is the name of the game. With the TGA draining cash from the system and risk assets under pressure, don’t expect a V-shaped recovery. The market needs to find a new equilibrium, and that process is rarely painless.

The risks here are obvious, but they bear repeating. If Bitcoin can’t reclaim the $77,000 level quickly, the next leg down could be brutal. Forced liquidations have a way of feeding on themselves, and the absence of buyers only exacerbates the problem. Cross-asset contagion is a real risk, with weakness in crypto spilling over into equities, commodities, and even safe havens like gold. The AI trade, which had been the engine of risk-on sentiment, is now a source of vulnerability. If that unwinds, expect further pain across the board.

On the opportunity side, brave souls with iron stomachs might look to fade the panic. If Bitcoin can stabilize above $74,000, there’s a case for a tactical long with a tight stop. The risk-reward is asymmetric for those willing to step in when everyone else is running for the exits. Alternatively, shorting failed rallies into resistance at $78,500 offers a way to play the prevailing momentum. Just remember: in a market like this, timing is everything, and stops are not optional.

Strykr Take

This is not the time for heroics. The break of key support in Bitcoin is a shot across the bow for all risk assets. Until the market finds its footing, the path of least resistance is lower. Liquidity is drying up, leverage is being unwound, and the marginal buyer is missing in action. If you’re trading this tape, keep your size small, your stops tight, and your wits about you. The only certainty right now is uncertainty. Strykr Pulse 38/100. Threat Level 4/5.