Bitcoin suffered a sudden weekend correction on Sunday, with its price falling to $73,510 shortly after reports about an Nvidia controversy circulated. The decline occurred approximately 100 minutes after the news broke, while reduced weekend trading liquidity appears to have intensified the downward move.

During Sunday’s evening session, BTC plunged from $75,607 to $73,510 in approximately ten minutes, marking its lowest level since August 21. The sharpest selling wave occurred at 21:55 UTC (4:55 p.m. New York time), when Bitcoin dropped 1.9% within a single minute on Binance.

The Nvidia controversy became a potential explanation for the sudden market weakness. CNBC reported that Nvidia’s board had initiated an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged relationship with a woman whom U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly suspect of transferring information to Beijing. These claims remain unverified.

Huang reportedly discussed the relationship in an email addressed to Nvidia employees.

Bitcoin has recovered only a fraction of its losses since the flash crash. On Monday morning, BTC was trading around $74,184 on Binance, approximately 2.2% below its price when the Nvidia report first emerged. The decline also extended Bitcoin’s weekly losing streak to five weeks. Its latest weekly candle closed at $74,851, compared with the opening level of $78,354.

The timing has raised questions about whether the Nvidia controversy triggered Bitcoin’s sudden $2,000 decline or whether weak weekend liquidity turned ordinary selling pressure into a much larger price shock.

Did the Nvidia Controversy Trigger Bitcoin’s Sudden Crash?

The timeline suggests that Bitcoin did not immediately respond to the Nvidia-related headlines. CNBC published its report at 20:12 UTC on Sunday (3:12 p.m. Eastern time), when BTC was trading at approximately $75,880 on Binance.

For nearly 90 minutes after the report, Bitcoin experienced relatively little movement. By 21:44 UTC, the price had slipped to $75,607, representing a decline of just 0.4% from its level when the news first appeared.

Selling accelerated shortly afterward, with Ethereum experiencing a significantly sharper decline. Between 21:50 and 21:55 UTC, ETH plunged from $2,213 to $2,060 on Binance, losing 6.9% in just five minutes. Bitcoin dropped 2.4% over the same interval.

This market behavior is consistent with a leveraged liquidation cascade. When prices fall below predetermined liquidation thresholds, exchanges automatically close leveraged positions. Those forced transactions generate additional selling pressure, potentially pushing prices lower and triggering further liquidations.

Although the Nvidia report may have influenced investor sentiment, it was not necessarily the only factor behind the decline. Nvidia remains one of the most influential companies in the AI industry, while Bitcoin has maintained a close correlation with AI-related equities in recent weeks. Thursday’s semiconductor stock sell-off had already pushed BTC below its 200-day moving average.

With traditional financial markets closed on Sunday, cryptocurrency exchanges remained open, giving investors an immediate opportunity to reduce their exposure following the negative headlines.

Geopolitical uncertainty also contributed to the cautious market environment. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iran’s demands as “outrageous” and said diplomatic negotiations had failed to make progress.

Why Low Weekend Liquidity Made Bitcoin’s Sell-Off Worse

Reduced trading activity appears to have played a significant role in amplifying Bitcoin’s decline. Binance trading data from the previous year shows that an average weekend hour generated approximately $24 million in BTC volume, compared with nearly $48 million during a typical weekday hour.

An analysis of hourly Bitcoin price movements over the same 12-month period identified 29 instances when BTC dropped at least 2.5% below its opening price within an hour.

Sunday’s sell-off recorded approximately $180 million in trading volume during the affected hour. That was the second-lowest figure among the 29 major declines and substantially below the median volume of $366 million.

This suggests that considerably less trading activity was needed to push Bitcoin lower during Sunday’s session. At 21:55 UTC, Binance recorded approximately $75 million in BTC transactions within a single minute, nearly three times the volume normally traded during an entire weekend hour.

However, weaker weekend liquidity does not automatically mean that Bitcoin crashes more frequently during these periods. Only six of the 29 significant hourly declines occurred on Saturdays or Sundays, slightly below the 29% share of total trading hours represented by weekends.

Instead, limited liquidity increases the price impact of individual transactions. When fewer buyers are available, even moderate selling pressure can trigger disproportionately large declines.

One important consideration is that the analysis excludes futures markets, where a significant portion of leveraged liquidations and forced selling may have occurred.

Taken together, the Nvidia controversy and geopolitical tensions may have encouraged investors to cut their exposure, while thin weekend trading conditions amplified the resulting market reaction.

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Will BTC Defend the $73,510 Level?

Bitcoin initially found buying interest around $73,510, rebounding to $75,735 within two hours of reaching the low. However, the recovery failed to gain momentum, and BTC subsequently retreated toward $74,184.

The daily technical outlook remains weak, as Bitcoin continues to trade below all three of its daily exponential moving averages (EMAs). These indicators give greater importance to recent price movements and help identify the prevailing market trend. BTC also broke below its 200-day EMA on Thursday, further weakening its longer-term technical structure.

Important resistance levels:

• $75,735: Sunday’s recovery high and immediate resistance.
• $76,490: The 200-day EMA and a significant technical barrier.
• $77,607: The 100-day EMA and the next resistance area.

Critical support levels:

• $73,510: Sunday’s flash-crash low and immediate support.
• $73,027: The August 21 low and the next potential downside target.

A move above $75,735 could indicate that buyers are gradually returning to the market. Reclaiming the 200-day EMA near $76,490 would provide a stronger recovery signal.

On the downside, a sustained break below $73,510 could expose Bitcoin to additional selling pressure, potentially bringing the $73,027 support level into focus.