Short link of a TechCrunch article

This is not possible at this time. You can archive a link such that it won't show in your Manage listings, but that won't prevent the link from being used by someone who has the link already.

Source

Can I delete a bit.ly link?

We believe that being a legitimate shortening service means offering permanent URLs. Our users can feel confident that the bit.ly links they create don't unexpectedly disappear or expire.

How do I remove or archive links from my bit.ly History page?

You can remove a bit.ly link from your history by opening the Options drop down menu and selecting the Archive link from the choices there (the other choices are Share, Copy, and Edit). Remember that links archived from your public history are still permanently functional and will always redirect to their original destination. Note: for some related bit.ly basics, see: http://bit.ly/Ovnvf

^{That's why the short urls are breaking the Internet :) When they are down half of the Internet is returning 404s.}

Due to abuse by spammers, could be anything. They might have lost their database for example or they might just got too much traffic and the servers went down. Nobody really knows. I would suggest you to use something that is more stable, most secure and fastest. The URL shortener by Google: goo.gl.