why is bitcoin down today

Bitcoin is down today primarily due to rising fears of a U.S. government shutdown, concerns about inflation and interest rates referenced by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and large-scale institutional selling and liquidations in the crypto market. Over $1 billion in liquidations occurred recently, and there is significant options expiry pressure, adding to market volatility. Additionally, there has been a sudden reversal in ETF flows with large outflows from Ether-linked exchange-traded funds, signaling weaker institutional confidence. These macroeconomic uncertainties and risk-off sentiment have led to a drop in Bitcoin below $110,000, and similar declines in other major cryptocurrencies as investors move toward safer assets.