Bitcoin slides to $64,161 as $238M longs wiped

Bitcoin tumbled to $64,161 on Monday after erasing weekend gains near $68,600, triggering $238 million in long liquidations as fresh US tariff threats rattled global markets.

The sell-off accelerated late Sunday after President Donald Trump vowed to impose a 15% blanket tariff on imports following a US Supreme Court ruling on trade measures, reversing earlier optimism that had briefly lifted sentiment.

Roughly $39.5 million in bullish bets were wiped out within four hours, contributing to more than $590 million in total crypto liquidations over 24 hours as leveraged traders were caught offside by the sharp reversal.

The decline intensified around 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 22 when bitcoin shed more than $3,000 in two hours to a session low near $64,258, with the price languishing at $64,161 by early Monday afternoon despite Strategy disclosing a $39.8 million bitcoin purchase.

Institutional flows also signalled caution as spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded a fifth consecutive week of net outflows totalling $316 million last week, extending cumulative withdrawals over five weeks to $3.8 billion.