Cryptocurrency markets took a dip on Thursday as traders offloaded positions following recent gains. Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $71,000, marking a 2% decline in the last 24 hours after failing to break its previous high of $73,700.

In a broader market slump, most altcoins also dropped sharply, with Ethereum's ether (ETH) down 6%, alongside cryptocurrencies like Aptos (APT) and Render (RNDR) which saw a 5% decline.

Market data indicates the CoinDesk 20 Index fell by 2.8% amidst a general downturn, as Bitcoin's dominance increased to 60.2%, reaching a three-year high.

The declines coincided with broader losses in U.S. stocks, where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell by 2.3% and 1.5%, primarily driven by disappointing earnings reports from major tech firms such as Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Digital asset-related stocks like Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) also reported significant losses, with decreases of 7% and 13% respectively, following lower-than-expected earnings.

In contrast, MicroStrategy (MSTR) showed resilience with only a 2.5% decline after announcing a $42 billion capital raise to bolster Bitcoin purchases.

Geoffrey Kendrick from Standard Chartered highlighted a potential risk from position unwinding ahead of the upcoming U.S. elections, but he suggested that any drop would likely be temporary, with prices expected to rebound post-election regardless of the outcome. He noted that if Republicans win the election, the prospects for digital assets could improve significantly, setting a bullish year-end target for Bitcoin at $125,000.