The world’s largest cryptocurrency just delivered its most punishing month since the sector’s spectacular implosion three years ago. Bitcoin plummeted from an all-time high near $126,000 in early October to below $87,000 by November 20—a savage 25% monthly decline that wiped out the year’s entire gains.
This isn’t just another crypto tantrum. It’s a full-scale institutional retreat that makes 2022’s FTX and TerraUSD disasters look like a warmup act.
Wall Street’s Crypto Honeymoon Ends Abruptly
Major ETFs hemorrhage billions as professional investors flee digital assets.
The exodus reads like a financial horror story. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF recorded $1.43 billion in outflows over just four trading days, including a single-day bloodletting of $523 million.
Meanwhile, Ether crashed below $2,900 with other altcoins like Avalanche and XRP posting 16-18% weekly losses. When the smart money runs this fast, you know the party’s over.
Even Bitcoin’s Biggest Cheerleader Can’t Escape the Carnage
Michael Saylor doubles down while his company’s stock craters 33%.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. bought another 8,178 Bitcoin for $836 million, bringing their hoard to 649,870 coins—roughly 3% of Bitcoin’s total supply. Yet Strategy’s stock fell 33% month-over-month, proving that even the most aggressive institutional believers can’t defy gravity.
When your biggest evangelist’s own shareholders are bailing, that’s not exactly a confidence booster.
Ghost of Mt. Gox Haunts Recovery Hopes
Dormant exchange’s billion-dollar wallet moves trigger fresh selloff fears.
Adding insult to injury, the defunct Mt. Gox exchange transferred nearly $1 billion to two wallets, reigniting fears of massive future selloffs as creditor repayments continue. Combined with broader macroeconomic headwinds—Fed rate cut delays and stock market jitters—crypto faces a perfect storm.
The Coinglass sentiment index hit “extreme fear” levels not seen since 2022’s meltdown.
Institutional confidence is evaporating in real-time. The question isn’t whether this resembles 2022’s crash—it’s whether the same forces that eventually sparked recovery can overcome today’s deeper skepticism about digital assets’ place in professional portfolios.
