Bitcoin’s Fall: Woe, Wipeouts, and Waning Hope!

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Behold, the specter of leverage looms, devouring dreams and dollars alike, while ETFs dance on the edge of a knife.

Bitcoin, that fickle lover, slipped 4.5% in a mere two hours, descending to $64,200-a price last seen since February 5th, when the world was still young and hope was free. The futures markets, ever the drunken revelers, erupted in a frenzy of forced exits, their cries echoing through the halls of speculation.

Sentiment Turns Bearish as Leveraged Positions Collapse

A 4.5% plunge, swift as a scythe, sent shockwaves through the futures realm. Santiment whispers that open interest, once a mighty $38.3B, now cowers at $19.5B, a shadow of its former self. A contraction so profound, it rivals the despair of a man who bet his last coin on a roulette wheel.

📉 Bitcoin, that sly trickster, dropped -4.5% in two hours, plunging to $64.2K for the first time since February 5th. A spectacle of ruin, if ever there was one.

🌊 Longs, those foolish dreamers, were liquidated in droves, while open interest plummeted to a mere $19.5B, half the peak of 2026. What a comedown!

– Santiment (@santimentfeed)

In simpler terms, the system purged its borrowed dreams. Before the fall, funding rates were positive, a cruel joke for those who bet on a rise. When too many traders clung to long positions, the risk grew like a cancer. Once Bitcoin dipped below $65,000, the crowd of longs fled, leaving chaos in their wake.

Meanwhile, $233 million vanished in 24 hours-a tragicomedy of losses. Longs took the brunt, $207 million wiped out, while shorts, pitifully, lost only $27 million. A long squeeze, indeed, where the weak are devoured by the strong.

Bitcoin’s fall occurred late Sunday night, when the world was asleep, yet fear surged like a wildfire. Retail traders, those valiant (and often foolish) souls, turned bearish, their panic selling a spectacle of human folly. In past times, such fear has sometimes birthed rebounds, but only when the selling becomes truly excessive.

Institutional Buying Holds Firm Despite Derivatives Shakeout

The spot market, that steadfast giant, remained calm amid the chaos. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, those modern-day alchemists, absorbed $88.10 million, a boon for the weary. Such inflows during a slump suggest institutions, those shrewd operators, are still buying low.

Derivative markets, however, have been purged of their excess. Open interest, once a behemoth, now stands at half its peak, and funding rates, those fickle tides, have calmed. A deleveraging event, yes, but one that may yet herald a rebound-or a deeper abyss.

As the price hovers near $64,000 to $65,000, the market holds its breath. If ETF inflows continue and derivatives ease, a relief rally may follow. But should the price falter, the downtrend may yet rage on, a cruel joke in the grand scheme of things.

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2026-02-23 20:24