---
title: "Bitcoin Price Plunges Below ‘Fire Sale’ Territory as Fear Index Reads 12 — Echoing the FTX Crash"
url: https://thecoingazette.com/bitcoin-price-plunges-below-fire-sale-territory-as-fear-index-reads-12-echoing-the-ftx-crash/
date: 2026-06-04
modified: 2026-06-06
lang: en
author: "Coin Gazette Editorial"
description: "Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin Price Plunges Below ‘Fire Sale’ Territory as Fear Index Reads 12 — Echoing the FTX Crash Bitcoin price dropped to levels on Thursday that placed it below..."
categories:
  - "bitcoin price"
  - "Crypto News"
tags:
  - "bitcoin price"
  - "Markets"
  - "price"
image: https://thecoingazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/bitcoin-price-plunges-below-fire-sale-territory-as-fear-index-reads-12-echoing-the-ftx-crash-1400x788.jpg
word_count: 501
---

# Bitcoin Price Plunges Below ‘Fire Sale’ Territory as Fear Index Reads 12 — Echoing the FTX Crash

[Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com)

![](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Bitcoin-Price-Plunges-Below-Fire-Sale-Territory-as-Fear-Index-Reads-12-—-Echoing-the-FTX-Crash.jpg)

[Bitcoin Price Plunges Below ‘Fire Sale’ Territory as Fear Index Reads 12 — Echoing the FTX Crash](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-price-plunges-below-fire-sale)

Bitcoin price dropped to levels on Thursday that placed it below the “Fire Sale!” band on the Bitcoin Rainbow [Chart](https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/charts/bitcoin-rainbow-chart/) — a depth not reached since the catastrophic FTX exchange collapse in November 2022 — as the Fear and Greed Index registered a reading of 12 out of 100, deep in “Extreme Fear” territory.

Bitcoin price opened today near $63,500 after sliding below $62,000 last night. That puts BTC below even the most discounted valuation band on the Bitcoin Rainbow Chart — a level the model historically flags as a rare and extreme buying signal.

The Bitcoin Rainbow Chart is somewhat of a logarithmic growth curve overlaid with color-coded sentiment bands. The deepest band — labeled “Basically a Fire Sale!” — represents the lowest tier of the model’s projected fair value range. When Bitcoin trades beneath it, the asset sits outside the historical channel that has contained BTC’s long-term price behavior.

> JUST IN: Bitcoin is now below the "Fire Sale" territory for the second time in 4 years ![👀](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/1f440.png)
>
> Buy the dip ![🙌](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/1f64c.png) [pic.twitter.com/oU6qudhn6M](https://t.co/oU6qudhn6M)
>
> — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) [June 4, 2026](https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/2062608722300396027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The last confirmed breach of the “Fire Sale!” floor occurred during the FTX exchange collapse in November 2022, when Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire [imploded](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/us-probes-ftx-handling-client-funds) and BTC cratered under forced selling pressure across the market. That event remains one of the most severe liquidity crises in crypto history.

Per *Bitcoin Magazine Pro* data from March 2026, Bitcoin price had already begun testing below the “Fire Sale!” zone — described at the time as “its first drop into this area since the FTX-induced crash”. 

The renewed descent on June 4 deepens that breach, with the coin shedding ground for the second consecutive week.

## Bitcoin price and market in ‘Extreme Fear’

The Fear and Greed Index, which [runs](https://www.bitcoinmagazinepro.com/charts/bitcoin-fear-and-greed-index/) on a scale of 0 to 100, registered 12 on Thursday — placing the market squarely in “Extreme Fear”. The index aggregates volatility, market momentum, social sentiment, and derivatives data into a single score. 

A reading below 25 signals extreme fear, a condition that, by the index’s own framework, has historically preceded price recovery periods.

February 2026 saw the index touch an all-time low of 5, driven by a 52% drawdown from Bitcoin price’s peak of $126,000. Thursday’s reading of 12 sits just above that nadir, as Bitcoin price [continues its slide](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-fear-index-hits-extreme-fear) from cycle highs.

On X today, Strategy’s Michael Saylor [argued](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/michael-saylor-calls-bitcoins-drop) the sell-off reflects institutional capital rotating into AI infrastructure rather than a deterioration in Bitcoin’s fundamentals. The decline may have been compounded by concerns over Strategy selling 32 BTC to fund preferred-share dividends — its first bitcoin sale since 2022 — despite the company recently reducing debt by repurchasing $1.5 billion of convertible notes at a discount.

This post [Bitcoin Price Plunges Below ‘Fire Sale’ Territory as Fear Index Reads 12 — Echoing the FTX Crash](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/bitcoin-price-plunges-below-fire-sale) first appeared on [Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com) and is written by [Micah Zimmerman](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/authors/micahzimmerman).