Bitcoin fell nearly $3,000 on July 31, dropping to an intraday low of $62,369 and slashing its monthly gain from 10% to 4.5%. Market capitalization fell from $1.3 trillion to $1.26 trillion.
Key Takeaways
Bitcoin fell nearly $3,000 on July 31, dropping to $62,369 after failing to hold $65,000.The crash wiped out $360 million in crypto bets, reducing Bitcoin’s monthly gains to 4.5%.Senate delays dropped the 2026 passage odds for Senator Lummis’s CLARITY Act to 30%.Bitcoin tumbled on the last day of July, shedding nearly $3,000 during a frantic 12-hour period that saw the cryptocurrency slide toward a two-week low. The plunge, a reversal from Thursday’s price action, significantly altered bitcoin’s trajectory toward a double-digit monthly gain that had looked certain 24 hours earlier.
Bitstamp data show that after a gradual decline to just under $63,600, a sharp sell-off lasting less than an hour dragged bitcoin to $62,369, its lowest since July 17. While a relief rally brought it back from the brink of dipping below $62,000, the recovery failed to trim much of its earlier losses, leaving it with a daily loss of approximately 3%.
The July losses, in turn, left bitcoin with weekly losses of just over 2% and cut its monthly gains from nearly 10% on Thursday to 4.5% at the time of writing (1:09 p.m. EST). Meanwhile, bitcoin’s Friday collapse pulled its market capitalization from $1.3 trillion to $1.26 trillion.
In the derivatives market, the price action was particularly brutal for traders with overleveraged long bets. Market data show that $100 million in long bets was wiped out, a fourfold increase from the $23 million liquidated some 24 hours earlier. The value of short bets liquidated in the same period was nearly $21 million. Overall, the crypto economy saw nearly $360 million in leveraged positions wiped out, with long bets accounting for nearly $235 million, or 65% of the total.
However, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune yet to allocate floor time and the bill short of the 60 votes needed to pass, prediction markets have slashed the odds of its 2026 passage to roughly 30%—down from over 80% in February. Stalling the measure leaves the crypto market without a regulatory framework that analysts say is key to sustaining long-term growth.
