Bitcoin fell more than 6% into Thursday, slipping to hover around $62,750 as selling pressure that began earlier in the week extended into another trading session.
The move put a widely watched support level at risk: analysts have been eying $65,000 as the line in the sand, and a sustained break below that level would raise the chance of a return to the February low near $60,000.
Market unease intensified earlier this week after Strategy revealed it sold bitcoin for the first time since 2022. The firm sold just 32 tokens — a tiny fraction of its holdings — but the disclosure rattled sentiment and helped push prices lower.
Trade Nation senior market analyst David Morrison framed the stakes plainly: "If there were to be a protracted and significant break below here, then that would increase the likelihood that the February low of $60,000 comes into play." His comment underscores why traders are watching whether $65,000 can hold over the next sessions.
Two facts are driving the current narrative: the headline drop into the low $62,000s and evidence of mounting seller participation among an influential cohort of buyers. Compass Point analyst Ed Engel said 26% of bitcoin sales over the past 30 days have been from investors who bought when the token was priced above $90,000 — a group that had been largely resilient through the broader bear market.
Engel argued that resilience is now cracking. "This cohort of top-buyers had been resilient throughout the bear market; however, they're finally capitulating as BTC approaches new cycle lows," he said, adding later: "This makes us more confident that BTC's bear market is in late stages." Those comments point to a classic market dynamic — concentrated selling by earlier, deep-pocketed buyers can accelerate price declines even when the absolute volume sold is small.
The paradox is central to the day's trade. Strategy's 32-token sale amounted to a sliver of its holdings, yet the market reaction was outsized. That mismatch — small on-chain sales producing large price moves — has traders and analysts debating whether the drop reflects a technical unwind, a shift in psychology, or both.
Technically, $65,000 now functions as the immediate test. If buyers defend that level, the late-stage capitulation Engel describes could mark a trough, clearing the way for consolidation or a recovery phase. If sellers push through and the break is sustained, Morrison warns the February $60,000 low becomes a credible next target.
Short-term traders will be watching order books and volume for signs the selloff has momentum: increasing volume on down days and a failure of bids to materialize around $65,000 would confirm the bearish case. For longer-term holders, Engel's read that capitulation is occurring offers a counterintuitive silver lining — that another wave of selling could exhaust supply and set the stage for stabilization.
What happens next will hinge on whether the market treats Thursday's drop as a transient panic or the opening move of a deeper correction. The decisive factor is the $65,000 support: hold it, and the path back toward higher prices narrows; lose it in a protracted way, and the February low around $60,000 comes into play, as Morrison warned. Until that test resolves, trading will likely remain volatile and sentiment fragile.
