The cryptocurrency market is facing intense downward pressure today (February 1, 2026), with Bitcoin (BTC) plunging below $78,000—hitting lows around $77,000 in recent trading—and Ethereum (ETH) dropping sharply below $2,400 amid heavy liquidations.

Key highlights from the past 24 hours:

🔸BTC has fallen roughly 5-10% amid thin weekend liquidity, geopolitical tensions, commodity reversals (like gold/silver), and a 12% drop in network hashrate due to severe U.S. winter storms impacting miners.


🔸ETH led the losses with 10-17% declines, including a massive single-trader liquidation of over $220 million on Hyperliquid.


🔸Total market liquidations exceeded $2.5 billion (some reports cite up to $2.6B), heavily skewed toward long positions across BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and others.

🔸A Solana DeFi platform, Step Finance, suffered a treasury hack draining ~$27 million in funds, causing its token (STEP) to crash dramatically.

This appears to be a classic deleveraging cascade, amplified by macro factors and thin trading volumes. Some analysts view it as a potential flush toward cycle lows (e.g., BTC testing $75,000), while others note signs of capitulation that could set up relief.

Michael Saylor hinted at possible additional BTC buys despite the pressure, though MicroStrategy's holdings remain challenged.

For live updates and prices, monitor reliable sources like CoinDesk or CoinGecko.

Stay cautious—volatility is high, and things can turn fast in crypto!

Source confirming major details (liquidations, BTC/ETH drops, single large ETH wipeout):

$ARDR $1INCH