Bitcoin slides below $110,000 as capital rotation shifts to risk-off mode

Bitcoin fell below the $110,000 mark for the first time in over six weeks as traders continued to take profits from the previous market rally under broader market uncertainty.

According to The Block's bitcoin price page , the world's largest cryptocurrency was trading at $109,317, down 2.9% in the past 24 hours leading up to 9 p.m. on Monday. This is bitcoin's lowest point since July 9, the price page shows.

Bitcoin's further decline comes after a brief rally last Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a potential interest rate cut at Jackson Hole, with building anticipation toward the September FOMC meeting.

"The correction was driven by a mix of profit-taking, technical resistance, and shifting rate expectations," said Rachael Lucas, crypto analyst of BTC Markets. "Bitcoin briefly touched $117,000 on Friday before reversing, with the formation of a lower high signaling fading momentum."

The crypto analyst said the positive sentiment from Powell's speech faded as investors reassessed the likelihood and the timing of a potential rate cut. This market uncertainty was exacerbated by recent reports of a single whale holder offloading 24,000 BTC (around $2.6 billion) that sparked a series of liquidations across derivatives markets, Lucas said.

Also on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he has fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, adding another layer of uncertainty as it raised concerns about the central bank's political independence. 

"Key levels now sit at 105k as the June breakout zone and 100k as both a psychological line and a heavy options strike," said Rick Maeda, research analyst of Presto Research. "A clean break below 100k risks forced deleveraging, while the upside remains capped near 118–120k until macro conditions become clearer."

Risk-off mode

Meanwhile, Ethereum experienced a sharp fall Monday night, dropping 7.4% to $4,371. The cryptocurrency had traded above $4,900 earlier in the day, near its all-time high. Most other major altcoins also declined, with XRP down 4.8% to $2.87, Solana slipping 9.85% to $187.7 and BNB falling 4.25% to $838.

"Across the broader crypto market, liquidations topped $900 million in a single session," Lucas said. "Capital that had been rotating between Bitcoin and Ethereum is now shifting towards a broader de-risking stance."

Presto's Maeda also pointed out that CoinShares reported $1.43 billion of ETP outflows last week, ending a two-week inflow run.

"Alts sold off faster than majors and stablecoin inflows stayed flat, signaling risk-off across crypto rather than capital shifting within the sector," Maeda said.