Bitcoin plunged under $66,000 while most altcoins cratered.
Ethereum (ETH) traded under $2,000 on Thursday, Feb. 5, for the first time since May 2025, amid a broader sell-off across crypto markets.
ETH fell about 10% over the past 24 hours to trade near $1,925, extending its weekly losses to 30%. Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent, said Ethereum’s move lower was driven by a broader shift away from risk in global markets, rather than a crypto-specific event.
ETH Chart“The defining characteristic of the sell-off was a synchronised de-risking across asset classes, marked by forced unwinds and elevated volatility even in assets typically viewed as hedges, including precious metals,” he said.
Howard also explained that the shift’s catalyst was the markets “rapidly repricing the outlook for monetary policy” following the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair.
Meanwhile, data from Lookonchain showed that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sold 2,961.5 ETH (around $6.6 million) at an average price of $2,228 over the past three days.
Bitcoin and Altcoins
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped roughly 10% on the day to around $65,700, extending its seven-day losses to nearly 21%. Among other major tokens, BNB slid 9% to $646, while XRP plunged nearly 20% to about $1.24. Solana (SOL) fell 12% on the day to trade near $82.
“Bitcoin is now testing key technical support between $60,000 and $70,000, the base of the pre-election rally. A sustained break below this range would increase the risk of a more protracted move lower, while stabilization here would point to a corrective reset rather than a structural shift,” Diana Pires, VP at sFOX, told The Defiant.
Total cryptocurrency market capitalization declined to approximately $2.33 trillion, down about 10% over the past 24 hours. Trading activity during the same period totaled roughly $259.5 billion.
A small number of tokens traded higher despite the broader downturn. Rain (RAIN) rose about 7% over the past 24 hours, while MYX Finance (MYX) gained 5.4%. MemeCore (M) added 1.6%.
On the downside, XRP fell more than 16%, while Zcash (ZEC) dropped 15.4%. Monero (XMR) slid nearly 14%.
Liquidations and ETF flows
More than $1.44 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass, with long positions accounting for roughly $1.23 billion of that total.
Bitcoin recorded the largest liquidations at about $738 million, followed by Ethereum at $338 million. Solana posted liquidations of around $77 million. In total, more than 304,000 traders were liquidated on the day.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $544.9 million in net outflows on Feb. 4, while Ethereum ETFs saw $79.5 million in net outflows. Spot Solana ETFs recorded $6.7 million in net outflows. By contrast, spot XRP ETFs posted $4.8 million in net inflows.
Tech Selloff Continues
Elsewhere, political developments are also weighing on digital assets, driven by uncertainty in Washington as lawmakers continue to negotiate key budget and immigration measures.
Weakness in U.S. tech stocks has also placed pressure on the situation, contributing to a broader pullback across global markets.
Meanwhile, gold prices have fallen 1.3% on the day, while silver dropped more than 9%, after hitting all-time highs recently.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/ethereum-falls-below-usd2-000-as-crypto-sell-off-deepens
