- Bitcoin plunges below $104,000 as crypto sell-off deepens.
- $1 billion in crypto liquidations hit traders within 24 hours.
- Aave, Flare, BCH slide; Jito jumps on a16z investment.
The cryptocurrency market extended a volatile week with broad-based selling that wiped out gains from earlier in the period as Bitcoin fell below $104,000.
Global crypto market capitalization dropped more than 3% to around $3.5 trillion before a modest rebound when Bitcoin returned to about $107,000.
CoinGlass data showed global crypto liquidations jumped to over $1.04 billion in 24 hours, with long positions suffering the most.
Open interest fell 3.8% to $150 billion as Ethereum, XRP, Solana and BNB each tested — and in some cases broke below — key levels.
Bitcoin tumbles to $103,598
Bitcoin led a sharp market decline on Friday, October 17, 2025. While the sell-off was not as severe as the liquidation event of October 10, the drop to lows near $103,500 marked another significant swing for BTC.
The flagship digital asset had partially recovered to highs near $106,600 at the time of reporting.
Still, the slide injected fresh concern into a market that had experienced an historic $19 billion liquidation event just a week earlier.
Notably, Bitcoin’s sell-off coincided with investor unease across Wall Street after reports of bad loans at two U.S. regional banks.
A spooked market pushed prices lower, and BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes shared his view of the situation on social media.
$BTC on sale. If this US regional banking wobble grows to a crisis be ready for a 2023-like bailout. And then go shopping assuming you have spare capital. I got my list, what’s on yours fam? pic.twitter.com/TbuQQI3njN
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) October 17, 2025
ETH, XRP, SOL and BNB mirror BTC’s pain
Bitcoin grabbed headlines for its steep drop, moving intraday between $109,260 and $103,598. The weakness was widespread: Ethereum, XRP, Solana and BNB all surrendered a sizable portion of recent gains.
In particular, Ether fell below $3,680, in line with large ETF outflows, extending the slide beneath the key $4,000 support level. Bulls were hovering near $3,800 as markets traded.
Crypto analyst Lark Davis noted that Ethereum was testing a crucial make-or-break zone.
Ethereum pulling back into a key zone here.
Price is testing the weekly 20 EMA — lined up perfectly with horizontal support and the 0.382 Fib.
Either this area holds and sends it back up, or we start eyeing the next leg lower toward the 0.618.
Decision time for $ETH. pic.twitter.com/JtdsBXsUNC
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) October 17, 2025
XRP slid more than 4% to lows near $2.20, well below the key $2.50 support and the psychologically important $3.00 level.
Ripple’s acquisition of treasury software firm GTreasury and reports of a potential $1 billion strategic raise tied to XRP had been among factors supporting bullish sentiment earlier.
Solana, trading around $182, fell nearly 5% to lows near $174, renewing bearish pressure under the critical $200 mark.
BNB, which had been among the top performers in recent months, saw profit-taking push the price down to around $1,024. BNB reached an all-time high of $1,370 on October 13.
Aave, Flare, Bitcoin Cash among biggest losers
As major altcoins mirrored Bitcoin’s declines, losses on Wall Street amplified the sell-off and left Aave, Aster, Flare and Bitcoin Cash among the day’s worst performers.
AAVE dropped about 13%, ASTER fell roughly 10%, FLR slid 9.7% and BCH traded down about 8%, making them notable underperformers among the top 100 coins by market cap.
Earlier in the session, Zcash fell under $190 amid a broader downturn before a small rebound pushed ZEC back above $216; the privacy coin’s value was down about 7% over the prior 24 hours.
On the winners’ board, Ethena, ZORA and Jito stood out. Jito in particular benefited from bullish news tied to a $50 million investment by a16z into the Solana staking protocol, which helped lift its token.