[Edaily Reporter Lee Jeong Hun ] The price of Bitcoin has finally collapsed, failing to hold even the $70,000 mark. This is the first time the $70,000 level has been breached since last August. As stock prices of semiconductor companies plummeted again, dampening demand for risky assets, Bitcoin extended its losing streak to six consecutive weeks. The prevailing view is that a rebound is unlikely in the near term due to the absence of buying momentum.

According to CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency market data provider, as of 10:27 a.m. on the 14th, Bitcoin was fluctuating around $68,300. Ethereum is also trading at $1,930. Over the past 24 hours, both coins have seen declines of around 4%. Bitcoin, in particular, has fallen more than 18% this month alone.

According to data compiled by Coinglass, approximately $1.3 billion worth of long positions—bets on rising cryptocurrency prices—were forcibly liquidated over the past 24 hours. Sean McNulty, a derivatives trader at market maker AQC Tech, explained, “As the Bitcoin price fell below $70,000, more than $1 billion in leveraged long positions were forcibly liquidated, which triggered further selling pressure.”

An index tracking the stock prices of major semiconductor companies fell 3.4%. NVIDIA, in particular, took a heavy hit as concerns about the company’s future grew following Jensen Huang’s departure. NVIDIA’s stock price plummeted 13% this week, marking its largest weekly decline since April 2025.

This week’s turmoil surrounding NVIDIA’s leadership spread to the broader tech sector, causing significant volatility in the stock prices of major tech companies. The fact that even investors who typically buy on dips are hesitating to buy indicates growing anxiety about AI-related investments ahead of NVIDIA’s earnings report scheduled for next week.

Matthew Siegel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, noted, “Leveraged positions are currently being liquidated in the market, and there is no ‘last buyer’ for Bitcoin.”

He explained, “Somewhat hawkish monetary policy remarks and concerns over debt deflation related to NVIDIA are putting pressure on the market,” adding, “With the correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq nearing its highest level in years, these negative factors are weighing heavily on the market.” He continued, “The $73,000 support level, where Bitcoin’s 200-day moving average is located, has already been breached.”

Bitcoin’s recent downtrend is the result of several macroeconomic factors simultaneously weighing on the cryptocurrency market. High global oil prices and persistent inflation are reinforcing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will implement additional interest rate hikes. Furthermore, with the Democrats set to control both the Senate and the House of Representatives starting next year following the U.S. midterm elections, speculation is growing that regulatory oversight of the cryptocurrency industry will intensify.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October, released this week, once again posted a high rate of increase, bolstering expectations that the Fed will raise the benchmark interest rate next month. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% month-over-month, exceeding market expectations for the third consecutive month. The overall CPI rose 0.4% month-over-month as prices for essential consumer goods increased across the board.

Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the cryptocurrency exchange BTSE, predicted, “If the Fed raises interest rates by 50 basis points (0.50 percentage points) instead of the market-expected 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points), there is room for Bitcoin and altcoin prices to fall further.”

Institutional investors have also been pulling out of the Bitcoin market over the past two weeks. Since October 30, U.S.-listed Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen net outflows of more than $2.5 billion (approximately 3.3 trillion won).

Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, assessed that the incentive to hold Bitcoin is weakening in the current market environment. He said, “With blue-chip tech giants like NVIDIA and Google undergoing a correction and Treasury yields rising, there is no reason to hold an asset that rises in price based solely on speculative expectations without generating any separate returns.”

However, Eric Balchunas, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) analyst at Bloomberg, noted that the scale of outflows from institutional investors is relatively small, assessing that investors are maintaining their existing positions despite the sharp price drop. He explained that the fact that cumulative net outflows from Bitcoin spot ETFs since the beginning of the year have totaled only $1.4 billion is a positive sign, adding, “Although it has been a very difficult year, investors are holding on to their existing positions and weathering the storm.”

He also pointed out that ETF fund flows typically follow Bitcoin price movements. He compared Bitcoin’s current situation to the case of gold ETFs, which also experienced a prolonged period of sluggish performance before hitting new record highs. Balchunas emphasized that even if investor sentiment has weakened, it does not necessarily undermine the long-term trend of Bitcoin adoption.