Bitcoin Drops to $73,510: Did Nvidia Controversy Spark a $2,000 BTC Crash?

Bitcoin dropped to $73,510 on Sunday, approximately 100 minutes after the Nvidia controversy surfaced. Limited liquidity during weekend trading amplified the decline, allowing the sell-off to extend further.

In overnight Bitcoin market activity, BTC/USD plunged from $75,607 to $73,510 within just ten minutes on Sunday evening, reaching its lowest level since August 21. The sharpest move occurred at 21:55 UTC, equivalent to 4:55 p.m. in New York. During that minute alone, Bitcoin lost 1.9% of its value on Binance.

Nvidia quickly became the primary suspect behind the market decline. Earlier on Sunday, CNBC reported that the company’s board had launched an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged relationship with a woman suspected by U.S. intelligence agencies of sharing information with Beijing. The allegation remains speculative at this stage.

Huang reportedly acknowledged the relationship in an email sent to company employees.

Bitcoin’s recovery following the plunge has remained limited. BTC was trading at $74,184 on Binance on Monday morning, approximately 2.2% below its level when the Nvidia report emerged. The latest decline also extended Bitcoin’s losing streak to five consecutive weeks. Its weekly candle closed at $74,851, falling below the opening price of $78,354.

This raises an important question: Did the Nvidia controversy directly cause Bitcoin’s sudden decline, or did low weekend liquidity magnify an otherwise ordinary market correction?

The Nvidia Report Emerged Around 100 Minutes Before Bitcoin’s Sharp Decline

The timeline suggests that Bitcoin did not immediately react to the Nvidia news. CNBC released its report at 3:12 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, corresponding to 20:12 UTC. At that moment, BTC was trading at $75,880 on Binance.

Bitcoin remained relatively stable for approximately 90 minutes after the report. By 21:44 UTC, its price had reached $75,607, representing a modest decline of just 0.4% from its level when the headline first appeared.

The sharp selling pressure began afterward, with Ethereum experiencing the initial and more severe decline. Between 21:50 and 21:55 UTC, ETH dropped 6.9% on Binance, falling from $2,213 to $2,060. Bitcoin declined by 2.4% during the same five-minute period.

This price action is consistent with a liquidation cascade, in which leveraged traders are forced to close positions as prices fall through predetermined liquidation levels. These forced sales can create additional downward pressure, triggering further liquidations and accelerating the market decline.

The Nvidia controversy may still have contributed to the sell-off. As the largest company in the AI sector, Nvidia plays a significant role in broader market sentiment. Bitcoin has also been moving closely alongside AI-related equities in recent weeks. Thursday’s chip-stock sell-off previously pushed BTC below its 200-day moving average.

With traditional stock markets closed on Sunday, cryptocurrency markets remained open and became an immediate outlet for traders looking to reduce exposure following the headline.

Another geopolitical development added to the negative sentiment surrounding Bitcoin. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iran’s demands as “outrageous” and stated that negotiations had failed to make progress.

Low Weekend Liquidity Amplified Bitcoin’s Decline

Reduced trading activity during weekends appears to have played a major role in extending Bitcoin’s sell-off. Over the past year, Binance recorded approximately $24 million in BTC trading volume during a typical weekend hour, compared with roughly $48 million during an average weekday hour.

An analysis of hourly Bitcoin price movements over the same period identified 29 instances in which BTC declined at least 2.5% below its opening price within an hour.

Sunday’s sell-off generated approximately $180 million in trading volume during the hour. This was the second-lowest volume among those 29 declines and nearly half the median volume of $366 million.

The figures suggest that relatively limited selling pressure was sufficient to push Bitcoin significantly lower. At 21:55 UTC, the most active minute of the decline recorded approximately $75 million in BTC trading volume on Binance, around three times the amount typically traded during an entire weekend hour.

However, weekend trading does not necessarily make Bitcoin more vulnerable to crashes. Only six of the 29 major hourly declines occurred on Saturdays or Sundays, slightly below the 29% share of all trading hours that take place over weekends.

The key difference is liquidity. During quieter periods, each dollar of selling pressure can have a greater impact on market prices than it would during more active weekday sessions.

It is also important to note that this analysis excludes futures markets, where a substantial portion of forced liquidations may have occurred.

Ultimately, both factors appear to have contributed to Bitcoin’s decline. The Nvidia controversy and escalating tensions involving Iran may have encouraged traders to reduce risk, while thin weekend liquidity allowed the sell-off to become more severe than it might have been during regular weekday trading.

Bitcoin Price Outlook: Can BTC Defend the $73,510 Support?

Bitcoin managed to recover after its initial test of the $73,510 low. BTC rebounded to $75,735 within two hours of reaching the bottom, although the recovery subsequently weakened as the price slipped back toward $74,184.

The daily technical outlook continues to show bearish pressure. Bitcoin is trading below all three of its daily exponential moving averages (EMAs), which assign greater weight to recent price movements. BTC also lost its 200-day EMA on Thursday, a key indicator frequently used to assess the longer-term market trend.

Resistance levels:

• $75,735 — Sunday’s rebound high.
• $76,490 — The 200-day EMA.
• $77,607 — The 100-day EMA.

Support levels:

• $73,510 — Sunday’s lowest price.
• $73,027 — The August 21 low, marking the previous level below which Bitcoin had not traded.

A sustained recovery above the nearby resistance levels could help stabilize Bitcoin’s price structure. However, a break below $73,510 would expose BTC to further downside pressure, with $73,027 emerging as the next important support level.

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