Crypto winter arrives? Bitcoin sinks to $89,420 as ETFs outflows top $3 bn in 3 weeks

Crypto market continues to bleed, with market cap reversing 12-month gains to reach November 2024 levels at $3.12 trillion. The biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is leading the fall, shedding 14.38% in the past month and 13.52% in the past week alone. On Monday night, Bitcoin fell to its seven-month low at $89,420, recording a whopping 28.57% decline since touching a lifetime high of $126,000 just last month, underscoring its volatile nature.

At the time of filing the report (3:13 pm India time), BTC is trading 4.63% down at $90,911, with institutional investors pulling out money from ETFs. Inflows to US spot ETFs have also flattened in November. As per SoSoValue data, spot ETFs have seen over $3 billion worth of net outflows in the past three weeks alone.

BTC’s current downfall is also being attributed to profit booking that seems to have accelerated following its failure to reclaim the key support level at $94,000. This caused the crypto coin to fall below its 200-day moving average and, subsequently, the 50-day moving average to cross below the long-term 200-day moving average, prompting traders to anticipate a ‘death cross’ between the two trends, which could be a sign of a further downward trend. The same shows in the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which has fallen to 11, exhibiting “extreme fear” in the market.

Not just Bitcoin, Ethereum is down 14.2% in the past week, trading 1.9% lower than its price a year ago. ETH is among the biggest losers in the past month, shedding 22% of its value. Its m-cap has fallen 34% to $368.6 billion since hitting its lifetime high of $558 billion in 2021.

Stablecoins like Tether and USDC are faring better, but they are also in the red; Tether is down 0.13% in the past month, while USDC is trading flat on a last-month basis. XRP has fallen 7.36%; BNB has fallen 15.71%; Solana has fallen 26%; and DOGE has fallen 17%.

In the past 24 hours alone, 189,053 traders liquidated their positions, with total liquidations hitting the highest level in months at around $1.03 billion. BTC liquidations stood at $245.07 million, followed by ETH at $168.09 million. The largest single liquidation order happened on Hyperliquid, with a BTC-USD value worth $96.51 million, according to Coinglass data.

Early signs of a crypto winter?

The crypto downturn has put the four-year cycle debate back at the centre of every conversation as ETF outflows, whale-driven short positioning, and thinning liquidity turned a routine correction into a deeper drawdown. Ethereum is struggling to hold the $3,000 region, and XRP’s profitability has dropped to yearly lows, signalling uneven pressure across majors. “The real question now is whether this slide marks the early signs of a crypto winter or whether the market is clearing the path for an eventual rebound. The next few sessions will reveal whether caution tightens its grip or whether buyers finally show up with conviction,” says Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO, Pi42.

Is Strategy’s latest push a turning point?

Despite negative sentiment gripping the crypto market, entrepreneur Michael Saylor-led Strategy bought another 8,178 BTC for around $835.6 million at $102,171 per bitcoin. This takes its cumulative holdings to 649,870 BTC.

Experts see this helping offset selling from new entrants and ETF-driven pressure. “On the other hand, on-chain data also shows rising activity from short-term holders, a pattern often seen near market bottoms. Historically, such phases have preceded strong reversals, suggesting that a shift in momentum may be approaching,” says Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex.