Why Did Bitcoin Price Fall Below $100K Again, and What’s Next?

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 for the second time in a week on Thursday, signalling renewed fragility in a market dominated by forced liquidations and heavy selling from long-term holders. 

At the time of reporting, BTC was trading near $98,400. The drop erased a brief recovery above six figures and pushed sentiment toward caution across major trading desks.

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Bitcoin Price Fails to Maintain the $100,000 Psychological Level

The decline triggered a new wave of liquidations. Data shows over $683 million wiped out in the past 24 hours, including $556 million in long positions. Traders were heavily positioned for upside. 

Bitcoin alone accounted for $164.5 million in liquidations over the last four hours, with Ethereum and Solana adding another $145 million combined. 

Also, pressure intensified from long-term holders (LTH), one of Bitcoin’s most stable cohorts. 

According to CryptoQuant data, addresses holding BTC for more than six months sold approximately 815,000 BTC in the last 30 days. This is the highest level of selling since January 2024. 

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The chart indicates a sustained distribution across cohorts ranging from 6 months to 7+ years, resulting in a consistent supply overhang at current prices.

This selling wave resembles prior cycle peaks where long-term holders locked in profits after multi-month rallies. The pattern is visible on the charts. 

Each spike in LTH spending corresponds with local tops and periods of prolonged consolidation. The current climb to 815,000 BTC spent mirrors the heavy distribution seen at the 2021 and early-2024 highs.

Market analysts note that long-term holder behaviour matters more than short-term trading noise. When seasoned wallets send coins back into circulation, liquidity deepens, but price support weakens. 

Combined with the largest liquidation cluster of the week, the market absorbed both forced selling and voluntary selling at once—magnifying the drawdown.

The next key test sits at the $98,000–$100,000 range, where buyers must step in to prevent a deeper move toward mid-cycle support levels.