Bitcoin slides toward $70K: what drove the flush and where support sits now

What happened on April 7

I watched BTC slip under $77,000 on April 7, its lowest print since December 2024. Roughly $132B in market cap vanished in a day—about an 8% drop—as bids thinned and sellers finally overwhelmed the $80K area. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slid from 72 (Greed) to the high 40s in a week (Economic Times).

How the slide unfolded

• Profit-taking after the prior high: After the March run to the low $73Ks, bigger desks started trimming. IBIT (BlackRock) showed steady outflows and MicroStrategy sat on visible paper losses, which kept a lid on rallies.
• Liquidations, but not a flash crash: Perpetual futures (perps) funding flipped lower and we saw roughly $2–3B in long liquidations across majors, but the selling was paced—not a single wick. Binance, OKX, and Bybit led the liquidations per CoinGlass, yet spot volume carried most of the move.
• Support breaks: Once $80,000 gave way, the 200-day moving average near $78,400 failed on the next test. Traders then eyed $75,000 and the round $70,000 as the next real supports.

Why it broke: three main drivers

• Policy and compliance overhang: A proposed U.S. Form 1099-DA for crypto, MiCA rules coming in the EU, and talk of a 1% transaction tax in India all hit sentiment at once.
• Macro headwind: The Dollar Index (DXY) climbed ~2% in early April, and odds of near-term Fed cuts slipped, pushing real yields higher—normally a drag on non-yielding assets like BTC.
• Technical damage: Losing the 200-day moving average and the $80K “psych” level invited systematic selling and tighter risk limits at funds.

Sentiment and spillover

• Fear & Greed rolled from low 70s (Greed) to the 40s (Neutral). Options skew moved defensive, with more demand for downside protection.
• Altcoins bled alongside BTC: ETH down ~15% to the mid-$1,500s, SOL off roughly 10% to the high $120s, XRP around -6% to the high $0.40s.

Institutional tells

• Corporate stacks under pressure: MicroStrategy’s 205K BTC position went deeper underwater on paper; Tesla’s smaller stack also bled.
• ETF flows: Early April saw net outflows across the big three U.S. products (IBIT, FBTC, GBTC). That removed a key spot bid that had supported prior dips.

What I’m watching next (and why)

• Supports: $75K as first line; $70K as the level that would likely trigger heavier systematic selling and potential margin calls.
• Flows: Whether ETF outflows slow or flip positive; creations/redemptions are the cleanest live demand gauge for institutions.
• Macro tape: DXY and front-end Treasury yields—if the dollar keeps firming and cuts get priced out further, crypto stays on its back foot.
• On-chain/venue health: Exchange netflows, stablecoin supply growth, and perp funding. A reset toward neutral/positive funding with rising stablecoin balances would signal real dip-buying, not just short covering.

Takeaways for readers

• This drawdown is big but not outside past-cycle norms. 15–20% pullbacks have been common even inside uptrends.
• Avoid reacting to headlines alone; watch whether ETF flows and dollar/yield moves confirm or fade the downtrend.
• For allocators, sizing and stops matter more than perfect bottoms—use levels like $75K and $70K to plan entries/exits, not to trade on emotion.

Real-time trackers: CoinGlass Liquidations, CryptoQuant on-chain dashboards, TradingView BTC/USD.

Disclosure: I hold BTC and ETH. This is not financial advice.