Bitcoin Price Suddenly Plunges to $76K as Hourly Liquidations Near $600M

Bitcoin slid below $77,000 and headed toward $76,000 soon after U.S. stock trading opened on Wednesday, after rebounding earlier from a seven-week low of $75,600 and reaching $81,000. That earlier rally had wiped out $380 million in short positions, or bets that prices would fall. In the latest hour, liquidations, or forced closures of leveraged trades, surpassed $560 million, with $530 million tied to long positions, or bets that prices would rise; more than 165,000 traders were liquidated over the past day, including a $6.62 million order on Hyperliquid. Ether fell below $2,300, down 7%, and other altcoins also lost ground.