Here’s Why the Crypto Market Is Falling as Bitcoin (BTC) Price Slips Below $65K

The crypto market is struggling. Total market cap is down about 3.5%, now sitting near $2.25 trillion. The Bitcoin price has fallen more than 3% and is trading around $65,549 after briefly dipping even lower. Ethereum is down 5%, BNB has dropped 3.7%, Solana is down 7%, and XRP is off about 4%.

This is not just a random red day. Several things hit the market at once.

The first trigger came from macro news. President Donald Trump announced plans to raise global tariffs to 15%, up from 10%, citing balance-of-payments concerns. That move brought back trade war fears and sparked a quick risk-off reaction.

The Bitcoin price fell fast after the announcement. Crypto Patel reported that BTC dropped below $65,000 shortly after the news, with around $461 million liquidated across the market and over 134,000 traders wiped out. Most of those were long positions.

When macro uncertainty rises, crypto often reacts as a high-risk asset. That is what happened here.

However, the sell-off did not stop at the headline. Santiment noted that Bitcoin dropped 4.5% in just two hours, hitting around $64.2K for the first time since early February. Open interest has fallen sharply to about $19.5 billion, less than half of its 2026 peak of $38.3 billion.

More than $210 million in Bitcoin liquidations hit within 24 hours, with longs making up the vast majority. Forced selling from overleveraged traders pushed price lower than it may have gone on its own.

Crypto Patel added that $193 million in BTC liquidations happened in just four hours, including a single $61.5 million position on HTX. When leverage unwinds like this, the move can accelerate quickly.

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In addition, Sentiment has shifted fast. Santiment pointed out that negative sentiment jumped to a two-week high even though the drop happened late Sunday night in the U.S., usually a quiet time for social media activity. The Fear & Greed Index is sitting in “Extreme Fear” territory.

Bull Theory also shared a broader warning. The account highlighted that the Bitcoin price is now down roughly 49% from its high, wiping out over $1.2 trillion in market cap in 139 days. It is the first time BTC has seen such a large dollar decline without a meaningful relief rally.

That kind of move has traders questioning whether something structural has changed since the October 10 liquidation event.

What Happens Next?

Right now, the Bitcoin price has lost the $65K support level, which adds to the pressure. The combination of tariff fears, heavy liquidations, and extreme fear has created a sharp pullback across the board.

However, deep fear and large liquidation spikes have often marked short-term bottoms in past cycles. Santiment noted that when retail flips into full FUD mode, rebounds can follow.

For now, the market is reacting to macro uncertainty and leverage being flushed out. The next move will likely depend on whether panic slows down and whether Bitcoin can reclaim the $65K–$66K area in the coming days.