The price of Bitcoin declined again on Thursday, intensifying the sell-off in the cryptocurrency market. Following the opening of U.S. trading, Strategy’s top stock, STRC, plunged to a new low. The market downturn deepened losses for both digital assets and the securities linked to crypto-focused companies.
Sharp declines hit STRC and MSTR shares
According to Yahoo Finance data, Strategy’s STRC product—which offers an annual dividend yield of 11.5%—dropped 8% shortly after market opening, falling to $74.13. With this move, the share price fell more than 25% below the nominal $100 value targeted by the company for trading. Led by Michael Saylor, Strategy is renowned for its Bitcoin-centric balance sheet and aggressive position in the digital asset sector.
After U.S. markets opened, the downturn in STRC accelerated, with the price dropping as low as $74.13—leaving it over 25% below its nominal value of $100.
Strategy’s common stock, MSTR, also faced heavy selling pressure. The share price slipped 7% during the day to hit $87.50, later rebounding to $87.89. The recent string of steep losses has raised concerns in the market over the credibility of Strategy’s “digital credit” approach.
Asset performance figures during Thursday’s U.S. session painted a stark picture:
| Asset | Intraday move | Latest level |
|---|---|---|
| STRC | Down 8% | $74.13 |
| MSTR | Down 7% | $87.89 |
| Bitcoin | Down 3.3% in 24h | $59,273 |
Bitcoin’s drop triggers liquidations
CoinGecko data showed that Bitcoin fell as low as $58,188 during the session, before seeing only a limited recovery to $59,273. This left the world’s leading cryptocurrency with a 24-hour loss of 3.3%. The sell-off followed Bitcoin’s plunge to a 21-month low the previous day, further highlighting the market’s fragility.
Bitcoin’s decline continued after reaching its lowest level in 21 months a day earlier, amplifying widespread selling across the crypto market.
Wild price swings accelerated liquidations of leveraged positions. CoinGlass data indicated that over $1.44 billion in positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $1.2 billion of that coming from long positions that bet on price increases.
Bitcoin accounted for the lion’s share of liquidations, with total forced closures reaching $658 million. This underlined that the price drop was not limited to spot markets but was exerting significant pressure on derivatives trading as well.
The latest data reveals that volatility is reverberating across both crypto assets and publicly traded products tied to crypto-focused firms like Strategy. As developments continue to unfold, the market outlook remains highly dynamic, with further updates expected as new details emerge.
