Bitcoin’s Plunge: A Carnival of Liquidations and Microsoft’s Cloudy Misstep

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Ah, the mercurial Bitcoin, that digital chimera, has once again decided to take a leisurely dive below the $85,000 mark, as if the number were a mere suggestion, a whimsical threshold to be crossed and recrossed with the capriciousness of a butterfly. In the span of 24 hours, it shed 6% of its value, now languishing near $84,700, a figure that, one suspects, might as well be written in disappearing ink.

The market, that grand theater of human folly, has liquidated a tidy sum of $850 million, sending over 216,000 traders into the abyss of forced exits. One can almost hear the collective sigh of despair, a symphony of woe conducted by the invisible hand of volatility. Microsoft, that titan of tech, stumbled rather dramatically, its shares plummeting 11% after a cloud business report that failed to dazzle. The ripple effect was immediate, dragging major indexes into the mire and casting a shadow over risk assets like Bitcoin, which, let us not forget, is the darling of the daring.

Trading volumes surged by 35%, a frenzied ballet of buy and sell orders, yet the selling pressure suggests a herd of traders fleeing rather than embracing the dip. Bitcoin, having flirted briefly with $90,000, reversed its course with the grace of a startled gazelle, plummeting to $84,416 before a modest recovery. Its market capitalization, once a towering $1.68 trillion, has shrunk by 6.73%, a reminder that even digital gold can tarnish.

The Macro Waltz: Fed, Labor, and the Dollar’s Rebound

The Federal Reserve, that omnipresent arbiter of economic fate, declared the labor market robust, with unemployment at a mere 4.4%. No urgent rate cuts, it seems, a decision that sent investors scurrying away from risky assets like Bitcoin, which, in their eyes, is less a store of value and more a rollercoaster of emotion.

Meanwhile, the traditional markets, ever the dramatic prima donna, intensified their volatility. Microsoft’s cloud misstep sent the Nasdaq tumbling 1.5%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones followed suit, shedding 1.2% and 304 points, respectively. The Volatility Index, that barometer of unease, jumped to 19, its highest since November, a testament to the market’s jittery disposition. The DXY index, tracking the U.S. dollar, rebounded to 96.6, adding yet another layer of pressure on risk assets.

Liquidations: A $850 Million Spectacle

The crypto market, ever the faithful echo of its traditional counterpart, felt the tremors acutely. The total market valuation dropped 4%, from $2.91 trillion to $2.87 trillion, a sum that, while staggering, feels almost quaint in the grand scheme of financial theatrics. Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, and Cardano, those colorful companions of Bitcoin, lost between 5% and 6%, a collective sigh of digital despair.

The liquidation spectacle was nothing short of operatic, with 216,843 traders forced out of their positions. CoinGlass reports a total of $849.73 million liquidated, $730 million from long positions and $119 million from shorts. Corporate Bitcoin holders, too, felt the sting, with MicroStrategy (MSTR) plunging 8%, its worst day since December 12, a fall that returned it to September 2024 levels. Circle (CRCL) and Coinbase (COIN) followed suit, posting losses between 4% and 8%.

Bitcoin’s Dance with $80K: A Critical Support Level

On the daily chart, Bitcoin is inching toward $80,000, a level that has been tested multiple times and may yet serve as a bastion of stability. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers at 33, while the moving average sits at 46, a clear indication that sellers are in control. Yet, as the price approaches oversold territory, one wonders if buyers might soon reenter the fray, their wallets at the ready.

$8 Billion in Options: A Looming Expiry

Friday brings with it the expiry of $8.27 billion in Bitcoin options on Deribit, the largest crypto derivatives exchange. Traders, ever the optimists, appear bullish, with the max pain price at $90,000 and a put-call ratio of 0.56, suggesting more calls than puts. Options, those financial instruments of speculation, allow traders to lock in prices for future transactions, and their expiry could well influence Bitcoin’s price action in the coming week, particularly if the Fed hints at easier monetary policy.

🚨 Options Expiry Alert 🚨

At 8:00 UTC tomorrow, over $9.5B in crypto options are set to expire.
$BTC: $8.27B notional | Put/Call: 0.54 | Max Pain: $90K
$ETH: $1.27B notional | Put/Call: 0.74 | Max Pain: $3.1K

BTC is trading sideways just under $90K going into expiry, while…
– Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) January 29, 2026

And so, the dance continues, a waltz of numbers and nerves, of hope and despair. Bitcoin, that enigmatic entity, remains as unpredictable as ever, a mirror to our own capricious nature. Will it rise again, or will it linger in the shadows of $80,000? Only time, that relentless march forward, will tell.

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2026-01-30 01:49