Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin dropped below $63,000 for the first time in three sessions Monday, dragged lower by renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities and a broad equity selloff that saw South Korea's Kospi plunge 9%.
Bitcoin fell from $64,300 at the weekly close to as low as $62,400 during the Asian session, before recovering to trade near $63,100 as of 07:00 UTC, according to CoinGecko data. The move marked a 2% decline in 24 hours and pushed the world's largest cryptocurrency back toward the lower end of the $59,000-to-$66,000 range that has held for roughly a month.
"The selloff was primarily leverage-driven rather than broad-based panic," said Nina Volkov, a crypto macro analyst. "Liquidations totaled roughly $70 million across centralized exchanges in the past 24 hours — about one-sixth of the largest liquidation events over the past 30 days, per CoinGlass data. That suggests forced position closures, not structural selling."
Bitcoin now trades below all three major exponential moving averages — the 50-day EMA at $65,214, the 100-day EMA at $68,689 and the 200-day EMA at $74,623 — forming a dense overhead resistance zone that has capped every recovery attempt since late June. The Relative Strength Index sits near the neutral 50 level, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence remains in positive territory but has yet to generate a strong enough signal to confirm a trend reversal.
The catalyst for Monday's decline was a combination of geopolitical and cross-asset pressure. Renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran weighed on risk appetite across global markets, while equity weakness in Asia amplified the move. South Korea's Kospi fell 9%, triggering a market-wide trading halt, with SK Hynix crashing a record 15% and Samsung dropping nearly 11%. Foreign investors sold 1.7 trillion won ($1.1 billion) of Kospi shares, exchange data showed.
Bitcoin faces a critical test at $60,000 support
With the $64,000 resistance level holding firm for a fourth consecutive week, traders are now watching the $60,000 psychological level as the next major support zone. A break below that threshold would open the door to the lower boundary of the range near $59,000, a level not tested since late June.
On the upside, Bitcoin needs a sustained close above $64,000 — ideally with follow-through toward the 50-day EMA at $65,214 — to flip the short-term structure from "sell rallies" to "buy dips." The MACD's positive but unconvincing position suggests momentum could swing either way in the coming sessions.
Altcoins feel the pressure as XRP breaks below $1.10
The selloff extended to altcoins, with XRP breaking below its key $1.10 support level and Ethereum failing to sustain above $1,800. XRP had been consolidating between $1.30 and $1.50 since mid-February, and the breakdown below $1.10 signals a potential retest of the cycle bottom near $1.00, according to technical analysts tracking the token.
Ethereum's failure at $1,800 — a level that has acted as both support and resistance over the past month — adds to the bearish picture across the crypto market. The broader altcoin selloff reflects the risk-off posture triggered by geopolitical uncertainty, with traders reducing exposure to higher-beta assets.
The immediate question for Bitcoin is whether the $60,000 support level holds. A successful defense of that zone could set up another attempt at $64,000, while a break lower would likely accelerate selling toward $59,000 and potentially $57,000. The next 48 hours, with U.S. equity futures reopening Sunday evening, will be critical in determining direction.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
