Bitcoin Loses Momentum as Markets Price in End of the Bull Cycle; U.S. Fed Appointment Shakes Gold and Crypto Flows

Bitcoin’s price action weakened sharply into the Wall Street open after a series of cross‑market shocks and fragile market structure amplified selling. The market printed a renewed low near $74,500 on several major venues before a modest intraday bounce, but the relief lift failed to restore conviction. Technical and on‑chain indicators now show Bitcoin closing a fourth consecutive month in the red — a pattern historically linked with extended consolidation or deeper corrections. The rout followed a rapid weekend risk‑off that combined geopolitical headlines, subdued spot demand and thin weekend dollar liquidity; that environment allowed margin calls and mechanical unwind programs to cascade. Granular order‑book data showed repeatable sell interest stacked just above prevailing bids in the mid‑to‑high five‑figure band with a dense bid floor around $85,000–$87,500; when that floor broke the available depth evaporated and a fast cascade of long liquidations followed. Derivatives trackers and institutional desks estimated leveraged long liquidations in the low billions (some intraday tallies aggregated to roughly $2.5 billion) with concentrated long wipes in the high hundreds of millions on certain venues. Spot ETF products also registered large same‑day outflows — datasets pointed to roughly $818 million exiting BTC ETFs and about $156 million from ETH products on the rout — removing a potential institutional buy‑the‑dip cushion. The shock extended into commodities: gold unwound sharply after the Fed leadership announcement, falling nearly 9% intraday toward sub‑$4,900 levels before attempting to stabilize nearer ~$4,700/oz, a move analysts linked to margining and forced liquidations in leveraged metal positions. Market participants and research teams including QCP noted that policy‑related shifts and margin changes amplified liquidation dynamics, producing a cross‑asset impulse that weighed on non‑yielding assets such as Bitcoin. Exchanges and major market participants took tactical steps to blunt tail risk — for example, converting protection reserves into bitcoin and pledging targeted buys to replenish funds — which reduced immediate downside but did not remove structural liquidity fragility. On‑chain patterns showed retail reductions in exposure offset by accumulation from very large holders, a transfer of inventory that offered some support but not enough to arrest the broader selloff. Taken together, the evidence points to a damaged short‑term backdrop driven by interplay between macro headlines, visible order‑book placement and episodic institutional flows. Most strategists see any durable recovery hinging on a re‑stabilization in gold, an easing of margin‑driven selling and a sustained return of ETF and institutional demand — factors likely to unfold over months rather than days.