Bitcoin Loses Its Footing

Over Feb 1–3, 2026, Bitcoin fell sharply during a thin-liquidity stretch that major coverage framed as a renewed “crisis of confidence.”

The selloff extended after Feb 3 and pushed to deeper lows. On Feb 5, 2026, Reuters reported Bitcoin dropping to about $63,295.74, describing it as the weakest level since October 2024, alongside heavy liquidation activity during the prior 24 hours. Reuters also reported that Bitcoin fell below $61,000 in that same period as volatility continued.

The drawdown included a brief washout toward the next round level. Bloomberg reported that Bitcoin dropped as low as $60,000 at one point on Feb 6, 2026, highlighting how steep the move had become versus the prior months. Reuters noted a rebound back above $70,000 on Feb 6 as broader risk assets stabilized.

By Feb 10, 2026, the market was still choppy. Barron’s reported Bitcoin dipping below $70,000 again, to around $68,970.20 in early trading. Separate market coverage on Feb 10 described 24-hour global crypto trading volume shrinking to roughly $111 billion, down from levels above $300 billion earlier in the month.

This Feb 1–10 path is consistent with a simple but harsh setup: doubt rises while liquidity falls.

1) Thin liquidity can turn selling into “steps.” Liquidity means how easily something trades without moving price much. In crypto, liquidity is not constant. It can thin out during weekends and off-hours, when fewer large buyers post firm bids. When bids are sparse, a burst of selling can push price down in bigger jumps. That can make the chart look like a staircase: drop, pause, drop again.

2) Liquidations can add automatic selling. In crypto markets, many positions use leverage (borrowed exposure). When price falls, exchanges can liquidate positions automatically if margin is not enough. Those sales are mechanical. They can hit the market when it is already stressed. Reuters tied the Feb 5 pressure to large liquidations, which is consistent with a loop where falling prices trigger forced sales that can deepen the fall.

3) Confidence shocks change who provides bids.
A lot of stability comes from firms that quote both sides of the market (often called market makers). When volatility rises and the story shifts to “confidence,” these firms often reduce the size they show or widen the gap between buy and sell prices. That is basic risk control. But it also means the market has less “shock absorber” when sell orders arrive.

4) Round numbers matter because orders cluster there.
Levels like $70,000 and $60,000 attract clustered orders: stop-loss triggers, hedges, and options-related flows. When price cuts through a round number, many instructions can activate close together. That can help explain why Bitcoin revisited sub-$70,000 levels into Feb 10, and why the dip toward $60,000 on Feb 6 became such a focal point in coverage.

5) Lower overall activity can mean weaker two-way trade. The reported drop in global crypto trading volume to about $111B on Feb 10 (from above $300B earlier) is one sign that fewer participants may be providing steady two-way flow. Lower activity does not automatically mean “calm.” In a stressed market, it can mean fewer buyers are willing to stand in with tight pricing, so price moves more per unit of selling.

This framing separates news from market mechanics. Over Feb 1–10, several of the sharpest prints are consistent with execution plumbing: thin bids, clustered level-based orders, and liquidation-driven selling. That helps explain why the week could include both a fast drawdown into the low-$60,000s and a sharp rebound above $70,000 without needing one single headline to “explain” every tick.

From Feb 1 to Feb 10, 2026, Bitcoin’s drop fits a familiar pattern in electronic markets: when confidence weakens and liquidity thins, prices can fall in sharp steps, and when leverage unwinds, forced selling can make the move feel sudden. Reuters’ reporting of ~$63,295.74 on Feb 5 and sub-$61,000 prints, Bloomberg’s note that Bitcoin touched $60,000 on Feb 6, and Barron’s report of Bitcoin back under $70,000 on Feb 10 all line up with a selloff shaped as much by how orders execute as by sentiment.