$ETH April 23, 2025 – New York, NY – Bitcoin (BTC) is in freefall, plummeting more than 14% in the past 12 hours to trade below $60,000 for the first time in months. The sudden collapse has triggered widespread liquidations across the cryptocurrency market, wiping out billions in value and leaving investors scrambling for answers.

As of 3:00 PM EST, BTC is trading around $58,900, down sharply from the weekly high of $69,000. Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and other major altcoins are also deep in the red, with losses ranging from 12% to 20%.

Market analysts are attributing the crash to a wave of risk-off sentiment following unexpected hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve and fresh regulatory fears stemming from leaked documents suggesting stricter global crypto oversight.

“This is a classic flight to safety,” said Jordan Malik, lead analyst at Apex Digital. “Traders are exiting high-volatility assets amid uncertainty, and Bitcoin is taking the brunt of it.”

Crypto exchanges reported over $1.8 billion in liquidated positions within the last 24 hours, and major trading platforms such as Binance and Coinbase experienced temporary outages due to heavy traffic.

The sudden downturn comes just weeks after Bitcoin touched new all-time highs, sparking concerns that the market may have overheated.