Bitcoin Traders Defend $62,000 Support as $171M Liquidation Wave Hits Top Crypto
Bitcoin dropped roughly 3.6% in 24 hours on Tuesday, hitting an intraday low of $61,860 before finding support just above $62,000. The slide dragged Bitcoin’s market capitalization down to $1.25 trillion and wiped nearly 3% off the total cryptocurrency market cap. Despite subsequent volatility, Bitcoin found firm support above $62,000 but repeatedly stalled when testing the $62,500 resistance level. At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded just under $62,300, a 3.6% decline over 24 hours.
The downturn triggered $171 million in total crypto liquidations, with long bets accounting for $158 million of the losses. Coinglass data revealed that 11,202 traders worldwide were liquidated during the 24-hour rout, with the largest single liquidation valued at $7.06 million.
The crypto slump mirrored a broader sell-off across global equity markets, where several major indices posted steep losses. South Korea’s Kospi led the decline, plunging nearly 10% and triggering a trading halt amid a sharp pullback in tech stocks. Analysts largely attributed the souring investor sentiment to a narrowing path for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
However, Mike McCluskey, co-founder of Tx, argues the Fed’s trajectory is only half the story. Instead, he points to telling signals within the options market and spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows. “We are witnessing a record 30-day net outflow exceeding $6 billion across the spot Bitcoin ETF complex,” McCluskey said. “This isn’t a momentary dip, but rather a sustained period of institutional de-risking from the very cohort that has driven much of this cycle’s momentum. Until this flow data demonstrates a definitive reversal, any relief rallies are likely to find a hard ceiling, regardless of intraday volatility in the spot market.”
McCluskey added that the upcoming June 26 options expiry on Deribit introduces further complexity, with roughly $10.6 billion in notional value on the line. The concentration of open interest shows nearly 80% currently out of the money, anchored by heavy positioning at the $60,000 put and $80,000 call strikes. “While ‘max pain’ sits near $74,000, I’m skeptical of its ability to pull price action higher,” McCluskey said. “Instead, these levels serve as a barometer for how overextended positioning has become. The $60,000 mark represents a very real technical and psychological threshold that has already faced interrogation this month.”