Source TOI
November 21, 2025
The global cryptocurrency market is reeling from a massive sell-off, with Bitcoin plummeting to a seven-month low and pulling the total market value down by an estimated $1.2 trillion in just six weeks. The crash signals a pronounced shift away from speculative investments, as the slump in high-flying tech stocks spills over into digital assets.
Price Action and Market Breakdown
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, tumbled by 5.5% on Friday, sinking to $81,668. This severe drop completely erased the token’s year-to-date gains. Ether (ETH) followed suit, sliding more than 6% to hit a four-month low of $2,661.37. Both major tokens have seen losses exceeding 12% this week alone, with Ether now nearly 19% lower for the year.
The widespread volatility is attributed to a broader market retreat from riskier assets. Key catalysts fueling the downturn include growing investor concerns over stretched valuations in the technology sector, particularly among AI stocks, and the fading outlook for near-term US interest rate cuts.
“If it’s telling a story about risk sentiment as a whole, then things could start to get really, really ugly, and that’s the concern now,” commented Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, adding that the market currently feels “a bit dislocated, a bit fractured, a bit broken.”
Corporate Holdings Under Pressure
The sustained downturn is placing significant pressure on companies with large corporate crypto holdings and those operating in the digital asset space.
Strategy, a flagship corporate Bitcoin accumulator, saw its shares fall by 11% this week, trading near one-year lows. JP Morgan has warned that the firm could face removal from some MSCI equity indices, potentially forcing a sell-off by index-linked funds.
Japan-based Metaplanet has plunged about 80% from its peak in June.
The crypto exchange Coinbase is on track for its longest losing streak in over a month, while miners MARA Holdings and CleanSpark also recorded significant drops.
Digital asset research firm CryptoQuant issued a stark warning, stating that Bitcoin market conditions are the most bearish they have been since the current bull cycle began in January 2023. The firm added that “we are highly likely to have seen most of this cycle’s demand wave pass.”
Analysts are watching the $80,000 mark closely for Bitcoin, a critical psychological and technical level as it aligns closely with the average purchase price of Bitcoin held by various spot ETFs. The fragility of investor sentiment follows last month’s record one-day crash, which triggered a staggering $19 billion in liquidations.
