Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) slipped below $60,000 this afternoon, down 6% on the day. BTC is now down 33% year-to-date and has lost more than half its value since hitting $126,000 last October.

Bitcoin long liquidations have crossed $253 million over the past 24 hours, with longs accounting for 92% of all BTC liquidations, per CoinGlass.

Roughly $92 million of that came in the last hour alone as the cascade accelerated. It’s the first sub-$60,000 print since June 5, when a $1.5 billion liquidation event briefly pushed Bitcoin to $59,100.

Why The Floor Cracked

Sticky US inflation at 4.2% in May and escalating Strait of Hormuz tensions have pushed oil higher and killed near-term Fed rate cut expectations, with Polymarket estimating the probability of 0 rate cuts this year at 79%.

Institutional capital is also rotating out of crypto and into AI infrastructure. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted six straight weeks of outflows totaling roughly $6 billion as money chases Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other AI names instead.

Mt. Gox’s creditor repayment deadline on October 31 adds a tail risk, with billions in Bitcoin still under trustee control and creditors who acquired coins below $1,000 holding most of the supply.

How Low Will We Go?

Polymarket’s flagship Bitcoin 2026 market, with more than $44 million in volume, gives a 64% chance Bitcoin trades at or below $50,000 this year. The chace of a complete wipeout, to $35,000 is 19%.

Strategy Stock Slumps Below $100

Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR), the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, traded at $93 today, down more than 10% on the day and below $100 for the first time since March 2024.

Peter Schiff posted on X earlier today that short sellers may be pushing MSTR low enough to force Saylor into selling Bitcoin to fund buybacks, calling it “the box Saylor put himself in.”

The funding engine behind those buybacks looks shaky. Saylor’s ChatGPT-designed STRC preferred stock now trades near $86, roughly 14% below its $100 par value.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju urged Strategy to halt Bitcoin purchases and rebuild cash, noting reserves have fallen 38% this year and dividend coverage has shrunk from seven years to about 14 months.

With STRC below par, Strategy may need fresh capital or to sell more than the symbolic 32 BTC it disclosed in early June.

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