Bitcoin extended its selloff late Thursday in U.S. trading, briefly sliding to $81,000 before paring losses to trade near $82,000.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value has now fallen nearly $10,000 in the past 24 hours, leaving it on the brink of breaking below its November low just under $81,000. The downturn triggered a sharp wave of forced selling, with more than $777 million in leveraged long positions liquidated in the past hour alone. Total crypto liquidations over the past day have climbed to approximately $1.75 billion, according to CoinGlass data.
Weakness spread across the broader digital asset market, where major tokens posted declines of roughly 7% to 9% over the same period. Ether was last hovering near $2,700, while BNB traded around $843 and XRP near $1.74.
From a technical perspective, bitcoin is now testing a critical support zone. A sustained move below the November low could expose the next major downside target near $75,000, a level last seen during the tariff-driven selloff in April 2025.
The move lower comes as traders digest reports that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to nominate former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump said late Thursday that he would announce his choice Friday morning, following renewed criticism of Powell and the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates unchanged.
Prediction markets rapidly adjusted to the news. Polymarket now places the probability of Warsh securing the nomination at 87%, up sharply from 37% just two hours earlier. Prior to the jump in Warsh’s odds, BlackRock fixed-income chief Rick Rieder — viewed by some investors as a more dovish candidate — had been seen as a possible contender.
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