TechFlow News, February 23: According to The Block, Bitcoin plunged sharply from $67,600 to approximately $64,700 on Sunday evening, falling over 4% within two hours. Other major cryptocurrencies declined in tandem: ETH dropped 5.77% in 24 hours to $1,861; XRP fell 6.42% to $1.33; and SOL declined 8.3% to $77.6. Per CoinGlass heat map data, roughly $360 million worth of long positions were liquidated within one hour.
Rachael Lucas, Cryptocurrency Analyst at BTC Markets, stated that this decline stemmed from multiple macroeconomic shocks converging on an already fragile market. Specifically: the killing of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, leader of Mexico’s largest drug cartel, triggered widespread violence, prompting several international airlines to suspend flights to Mexico; U.S. existing-home contract sales for January declined 0.8% month-on-month—the lowest level recorded since 2001 at 70.9; and Donald Trump announced plans to raise the global blanket tariff rate from 10% to 15%, further dampening market risk appetite. Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, added that the Japanese yen surged sharply amid expectations that the Bank of Japan may tighten monetary policy further, forcing some funds to deleverage and intensifying the global sell-off of risk assets.
Lucas noted that Bitcoin had registered five consecutive weeks of net ETF fund outflows, while spot trading volume declined 59% week-on-week—indicating insufficient market liquidity to withstand such shocks. Meanwhile, over the past month, whale addresses collectively accumulated 200,000 BTC. Additionally, Bitcoin’s short-term Sharpe ratio has reached -38.38—a level comparable to cycle lows observed in 2015, 2019, and 2022, all of which were followed by significant rebounds. Analysts broadly agree that key catalysts for market stabilization include progress on the CLARITY Act, renewed ETF inflows, or easing macroeconomic uncertainty.
