BTC drops below 60,000 as $1.5 billion liquidated

US jobs data amplifies sell-off

Stronger-than-expected US non-farm payrolls for May intensified the sell-off in risk assets. The US economy created 172,000 jobs in May, far outpacing market expectations of 85,000. The unemployment rate was reported at 4.3%, while job figures for March and April were revised upwards by a combined 93,000.

Robust labor numbers further reduced expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut, adding to pressure on cryptocurrencies. After the employment data, Bitcoin traded around $61,884, down 2.54% over 24 hours before slipping below the key $60,000 threshold.

Critical threshold in derivatives markets

Options traders are closely watching the $60,000 mark. Jean-David Péquignot, Deribit’s Chief Commercial Officer, called this level a crucial threshold for Bitcoin options. Deribit stands as a leading platform in the crypto derivatives sector.

Mini glossary: Gamma measures how quickly an option’s price sensitivity to the underlying asset changes. Market makers carrying short gamma may offset risk with spot or futures selling as prices decline.

The drop below $60,000, as seen today, can prompt market makers to sell spot Bitcoin or futures contracts to balance short gamma risk. Continued weakness, paired with high leverage, could trigger further liquidations of new long positions.

Data shows over $1.2 billion in open positions on $60,000 strike put options just on Deribit. Movement below this level raises the risk of additional hedges and waves of new liquidations.

Market commentary and Strategy under pressure

Peter Schiff argued that short-term support near $61,000 is unlikely to hold, warning that the slide may continue. He noted that selling pressure in crypto and tech equities is rippling out to other markets, including precious metals.

One of Bitcoin’s largest institutional investors, Strategy, is also feeling the strain. Michael Saylor called for unity across different factions of the Bitcoin community. The firm’s unrealized losses have climbed above $12.7 billion as Bitcoin’s price fell below their average buy-in cost.

Bitcoin has evolved into a global monetary network used by individuals, institutions, corporations, banks, capital markets, and governments alike.

Conversely, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju suggested that recent criticism should focus more on early large holders, not Saylor. According to Ju, old “whale” wallets sold around 1.24 million BTC to Saylor and ETFs over the past two years, while Strategy’s own sales amounted to just 32 BTC in that period.

On-chain signals point to stress

Glassnode data also reveals the US government’s Bitcoin holdings—mostly seized from criminal proceeds—have fallen in value to $20.8 billion, nearly half the $40.7 billion peak seen in October.

On-chain valuation indicators continue to signal stress. Bitcoin’s MVRV ratio has fallen to 1.19, where levels below 1.0 are often linked with undervaluation and higher ones with broader market profitability. Analysts are also monitoring a recent crossover between the 4,000-day and 365-day moving averages, which points to continued downside risk, though similar periods in past cycles have coincided with gradual accumulation by long-term holders.

The $59,000 region has now become a critical test for Bitcoin. A further decline could trigger more hedging-driven selling and liquidations, while any recovery will require BTC to reclaim the $65,000 resistance to offset the current pressure from the strong jobs report.