Bitcoin Slides to Two-Month Low as Liquidations Surge and Fed Uncertainty Weighs

Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday, dropping to its lowest level in more than two months as forced liquidations swept through leveraged positions and investors reacted to uncertainty around U.S. Federal Reserve leadership.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was down 6.4% at $82,620 by 02:15 ET, after touching a session low near $81,200, putting it close to key April support levels.

The selloff was driven by heavy liquidations across crypto markets. Data from CoinGlass showed about $1.68 billion worth of leveraged positions were wiped out in the past 24 hours, with roughly 93% coming from long trades. Around 270,000 traders saw positions forcibly closed, accelerating downside momentum.

Market pressure also intensified as investors awaited President Donald Trump’s announcement of his nominee to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Reports suggest former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is the leading candidate, a prospect that has raised concerns over tighter liquidity conditions and reduced support for risk assets.

Expectations of a shift in monetary policy leadership triggered broader risk aversion, with the dollar strengthening and yields rising, adding further strain to cryptocurrencies.

Altcoins followed Bitcoin lower. Ethereum dropped more than 7% to $2,750, while XRP fell about 7% to $1.75. Solana lost 6.5%, Cardano slid 8%, and Polygon declined over 5%. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin fell 6% and $TRUMP lost around 3.5%.