Bitcoin Falls Below $105,000, Gold Hits ATH as Fear Grips Markets

Bitcoin plunged below $105,000 and gold hit another all-time high (ATH) as “extreme fear” grips the crypto market.

The selloff followed the emergence of lending problems at several U.S. regional banks, raising concerns about broader systemic risks.

U.S. regional lenders Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp have revealed they were victims of fraud on loans made to funds that invest in distressed commercial mortgages.

That followed the lending boom at subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings and the collapse of First Brands Group, which owed more than $10 billion to some of Wall Street’s biggest banks.

US President Donald Trump added to the pessimistic mood when he confirmed that there is a trade war with China.

THE The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell six points into “extreme fear” territory with a reading of 22. That’s down from 64 last week, when there was still “greed” in the market.

Crypto Fear and Greed Index (Source: alternative.me)

Crypto liquidations exceed $1 billion as Bitcoin collapses

Bitcoin price fell more than 5% in the past 24 hours, extending its weekly losses to more than 13%, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

BTC Price (Source: CoinMarketCap)

It is trading at $104,818.37 as of 4:24 a.m. EST.

The rest of the market followed BTC’s lead, with the overall market capitalization plummeting by over 5%.

As a result, traders were hit, causing 24-hour liquidations in the market to spike to over $1.1 billion, according to CoinGlass data. watch. The majority of this amount came from long positions, which are bets on rising prices, for Bitcoin and Ethereum. A total of $935.64 million was liquidated through bullish trades.

Gold flies to another ATH

Gold, which has been investors’ favored hedge against market uncertainty and inflation over the years, saw its price hit a new record high, this time at $4,380.79 per ounce.

Data from TradingView shows that the price of gold has jumped 25% since August 29.

Gold price (Source: Trading View)

The price rise has also seen the market capitalization of gold reach a record high of $30 trillion, making the commodity the first asset in history to reach this stage.

Known Bitcoin critic and gold investor Peter Schiff recently took to

Gold is more likely to hit $1 million than Bitcoin.

-Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) October 16, 2025

This is after he said long-term Bitcoin investors “are in denial” amid the “de-bitcoinization” trade.

“Gold is eating Bitcoin’s lunch,” he says wrote on X. “HODLers, sell your fool’s gold now and buy the real thing, or have fun going broke,” Schiff added.

Crypto ETFs lose over $500 million

Capital rotation out of crypto is also seen with Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs (exchange traded funds).

Investors withdrew more than $530.9 million from BTC products in the last trading session, according to Distant investor data. The majority of these daily net outflows came from ARK Invest’s ARKB, which saw $275.2 million leave its reserves.

The next largest outflows in the US spot Bitcoin ETF market were recorded by Fidelity’s FBTC, with its outflows of $132 million.

Other spot BTC ETFs, including BlackRock’s IBIT, Bitwise’s BITB, VanEck’s HODL, and both Grayscale products, also saw outflows on the day.

IBIT’s outflows reached $29.5 million, while BITB and HODL saw negative flows of $20.6 million and $6.1 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC saw outflows of $45 million and $22.5 million left its BTC ETF.

Place Ethereum ETF saw lighter outflows of just $56.8 million, with Grayscale’s ETHE losing $69 million in outflows.

Fidelity’s FETH, Bitwise’s ETHW, Franklin’s EZET, and Grayscale’s ETH have also seen capital leave their reserves. BlackRock’s ETHA was the only fund to see positive flows, with $46.9 million added to its reserves.

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