The already crisis-ridden cryptocurrency market collapsed further on November 21, with market capitalization falling from more than $3 trillion the day before to $2.18 trillion at the time of writing, 6 p.m., data from CoinMarketCap showed.
Data on CoinGecko showed that over the past six weeks, the crypto market has lost a total of almost $1.2 trillion in market capitalization. This comes even after the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, hit an all-time high above $1,20,000 in October. Since then, the token has lost 12% year-over-year (YoY), also posting a record single-day drop of $19 billion in October itself.
Meanwhile, the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether, lost almost 19% year-over-year. “The unprecedented pace of Ethereum accumulation by institutional investors poses a fundamental threat to Ethereum,” according to co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Currently, nine Wall Street giants, including BlackRock, along with several dozen DAT companies, have accumulated 10.4% of Ethereum’s total supply.
Investors appear to have lost appetite for risk amid concerns about overvalued tech stocks and an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble, and as bets on a fall in short-term U.S. interest rates have faded, according to a Reuters report.
Crypto Price Today: Bitcoin Price Drops to $80,000 in Brief Scare
- Bitcoin is trading at $84,323.72, down 7.07% on the day, with a market cap of $1.68 trillion and trading volume of $130.9 billion. However, in a brief scare as the US market opened, the world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to $80,553 – its lowest since April 11, 2025 – around 6:30 p.m., the data showed.
- Ethereum is trading at $2,724.24, down 1.55% on the day, with a market cap of $328.96 billion and trading volume of $58.67 billion.
- Tether is trading at $0.9988, down 0.01% on the day, with a market cap of $184.63 billion and trading volume of $224.5 billion.
- XRP is trading at $1.90, down 1.23% on the day, with a market cap of $114.9 billion and a trading volume of $9.73 billion.
- Binance Coin is trading at $817.46, down 0.84% on the day, with a market cap of $112.75 billion and trading volume of $4.67 billion.
What are the future prospects for Bitcoin and the crypto market?
In the short term, Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, believes that at Bitcoin’s current price below the $83,000 level, the timing and magnitude of the momentum suggests a wave of margin calls. He added that a similar trend was seen when the RSI on the daily charts fell to 20, ahead of the massive rally in August 2023. “Touching this level in mid-2022 was not far from the bottom of the price (10% higher), but the reversal then took six months to materialize,” he added.
XWIN Research warns that Bitcoin could fall into the $60,000-80,000 range and stay there until the end of the year if the Fed refuses to cut its key rate on December 10.
Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, told Mint that the drop in Bitcoin prices comes against a backdrop of weakness in all major financial markets, as macroeconomic uncertainty makes investors cautious. “More than 65,000 Bitcoins were transferred to exchanges by short-term holders, contributing to the selling pressure,” he said.
CoinSwitch Markets Desk warned that Bitcoin is “falling toward key liquidity zones where many leveraged traders’ stop-losses are located.”
It’s not all doom and gloom; Future strategic investments?
A WazirX spokesperson told Mint that the price of Bitcoin has been affected by capital outflows and fewer inbound investments from institutions, but added that the narrative around strategic investment-driven inflows is gaining traction.
Mohit Kumar, head of markets research at Delta Exchange, acknowledged that Bitcoin is “very close to a bottom” but added that while price volatility is likely in the coming week, the token is expected to see a pullback to levels of $95,000-$1,00,000.
“The next phase depends on liquidity. US liquidity appears close to a bottom. Global indicators appear more stable. If the global cycle reverses, Bitcoin will likely benefit. If conditions remain tight, the market could continue to contract until risk appetite improves, but more likely the price will show a sideways movement rather than a sharp decline,” a WazirX spokesperson added.
Bitcoin in the long term to see a recovery? What the experts say…
CoinSwitch Markets Desk added: “The next big cluster could be between $78,000 and $75,000, meaning the price could drop there before stabilizing. These areas often trigger forced selling first and then attract buyers, creating a likely rebound zone, as historically buyers are active at lower levels.”
Citi analyst Alex Saunders told Reuters that $80,000 would be an important level because it is around the average level of bitcoin holdings in ETFs.
Looking ahead, Patel was optimistic, adding that past cycles show that this type of behavior from short-term holders often appears near market lows, suggesting a trend reversal. “Buyers must now defend the $80,000 support to avoid a deeper correction, while $91,000 remains the key resistance,” he added.
WazirX is also not deterred, the spokesperson said, “None of this changes Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory. The supply curve is fixed. Institutional demand is increasing. Adoption continues to broaden. Investors should approach this moment with clarity. This pullback is not a structural failure but simply a sentiment setback after a year of high expectations.”
Kumar agrees: “The current market weakness is due to 1,00,000 technical outage and poor liquidity conditions. Excess leverage in the system has also led to unprecedented liquidations. Looking ahead, liquidity is going to improve significantly in the coming weeks. Additionally, we don’t see much decline in US tech stocks after Nvdia’s good earnings. Better liquidity conditions, resumption of US tech leaders’ rally and elimination of “Excess leverage in the system creates perfect conditions for a pullback rally.”
