How did cryptocurrency prices develop over the past 24 hours?
Cryptocurrency markets experienced sharp fluctuations on February 3rd and 4th, 2026, with most major digital assets recording significant declines amid selling pressure and profit-taking.
Bitcoin fell to $72,713 on Bitfinex, a 5.15% loss from the previous close, while on Coin Metrics it reached $72,412, a 4.75% decrease.
Ethereum also declined to $2,121, a 6.81% drop.
Other cryptocurrencies like Ripple fell by 5% to $1.52.
Litecoin also declined by 5% to around $57.
Meanwhile, Ox remained stable at $0.16.
Bitcoin open interest fell by $55 billion in 30 days, and futures traders significantly reduced their activity as Bitcoin continued its decline, hitting new year-to-date lows almost daily.
Bitcoin struggled to stay above $70,000 until Wednesday, raising concerns that a drop to the $60,000 range could be the next target.
The sell-off was accompanied by liquidations in the futures market, a $55 billion drop in Bitcoin open interest over 30 days, and increased Bitcoin flows to exchanges, according to Cointelegraph.
This price weakness has sparked debate among analysts about whether cryptocurrency-specific factors or broader macroeconomic issues are the primary drivers of the sell-off, and what it might mean for Bitcoin's short-term future.
Approximately 744,000 Bitcoins were removed from open interest on major exchanges over the past 30 days, equivalent to roughly $55 billion at current prices.
The cumulative trading volume of Bitcoin futures (CVDs) has decreased by $40 billion over the past six months.
Exchange holdings have increased by 34,000 Bitcoin since mid-January, raising near-term supply risks.
Data from CryptoQuant indicates that the change in 30-day Bitcoin open contracts reflects a sharp contraction across exchanges, driven by widespread position closures rather than simply new short positions being opened.
On Binance, net open contracts decreased by 276,869 Bitcoin last month, while Byte saw the largest drop of 330,828 Bitcoin. OKX experienced a decrease of 136,732 Bitcoin on Tuesday.
In total, approximately 744,000 Bitcoins in open contracts were closed, equivalent to over $55 billion at current prices. This decline coincided with Bitcoin falling below $75,000, indicating that deleveraging is the primary factor behind the decline, rather than just immediate selling.
