The crypto market got hit hard today, and Bitcoin is leading the way down. BTC was trading near $80,000, but it slipped below $78,000 and dropped to around $77,800. Everything else got dragged down with it.
There wasn’t one single trigger. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh gave a hawkish speech that spooked investors. At the same time, a wave of leveraged liquidations made the selling worse. Crypto Rover reported about $130 billion wiped out from the crypto market, and over $200 million in long positions got liquidated as traders scrambled to get out of losing bets.
What you'll learn 👉
The Fed Just Gave Markets a Reason to Worry
The main trigger came from the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole conference. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh made it clear that inflation remains a problem. Warsh pointed to the numbers. PCE inflation is at 3.7% over the past year and 4.1% annualized over the last six months. Both are well above the Fed’s 2% target.
FED CHAIR WARSH: INFLATION REMAINS TOO HIGH, FOCUS MUST BE ON PRICES
— Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) August 28, 2026
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh used his first Jackson Hole speech to deliver a firmly hawkish assessment of the U.S. economy, arguing that the Fed still has work to do on inflation.
Key points include
Warsh says the… pic.twitter.com/hb9FVCqL9A
He also noted that 54% of the items in the PCE basket have risen more than 3% in the last year. That means price pressures are still broad-based. Not just a few things, almost everything. On top of that, he described the U.S. economy as resilient.
Unemployment is at 4.1%, and jobless claims are still near multi-decade lows. In his view, financial conditions just aren’t tight enough yet. So the inflation fight might not be done. That message hit the market immediately. Traders quickly raised the probability of a September rate hike to 55.7%. The dollar got a boost, and risk assets like crypto took a hit.
Bitcoin Leverage Turned a Sell-Off Into a Bigger Drop
The macro news started the decline, but leverage accelerated it. We had a look at the Bitcoin chart and found that the BTC price fell from around $79,800 to roughly $77,544 in a short period of time. Once key levels broke, leveraged long positions started getting wiped out.
Data shows Bitcoin liquidations reached $97.9 million over the past 24 hours, with long liquidations jumping nearly 129%. As traders were forced out of positions, extra selling pressure entered the market and pushed prices even lower.
Mario Nawfal summed it up well when he noted that Bitcoin erased almost $3,000 in about an hour. Last week the market was squeezing short sellers. This time, bullish traders ended up on the wrong side of the move.
Read Also: Crypto News Today: Bitcoin Holds $78K as Major Developments Hit XRP, HYPE and Web3
The BTC price is now testing a support area between roughly $76,900 and $77,700. We had a look at the Bitcoin chart and found that Bitcoin is trading below the 50% Fibonacci retracement level near $79,128 and close to a major pivot point around $77,731.
The next level traders are watching is $76,909. If that level fails to hold, attention could quickly turn toward the $74,000 region. There is one potential positive sign for bulls. Bitcoin’s 24-hour RSI dropped to 27.34. That’s oversold territory.
Sometimes that brings a short-term bounce if buyers think the selling got overdone. But for a real recovery, the BTC price needs to get back above $79,800 first. Then it has to break through that bigger resistance zone at $82,000–$83,000, the same area that’s been blocking upside for weeks. That’s the real test.
Is Bitcoin Near a Bottom?
Not everyone is bearish. Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said he believes Bitcoin has already found its bottom and expects a much stronger finish to the year. Speaking at Bitcoin Asia 2026, he made the case that new buyers coming into the market are different this time. They’re more committed, he said, and they’re not going to bail because of some short-term volatility.
🚨BULLISH: Metaplanet CEO says Bitcoin has likely found its bottom, with new buyers “not going anywhere.”
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) August 28, 2026
“I believe the bottom is in. And I'm expecting a much brighter rest of the year.” pic.twitter.com/Qr50nwG1TP
That fits with what we’re seeing from institutional demand through spot Bitcoin ETFs, still one of the strongest long-term drivers for the asset. But for now, traders are glued to the usual suspects: inflation data, Fed policy, and whether the BTC price can hold that key $76,900 support zone. If it does, the market could stabilize. If not, the next leg lower may arrive sooner than many expect.
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