On November 17, 2025, Bitcoin and Ethereum confirmed a significant bearish trend, sinking to multi-month lows as a deterioration of market liquidity and shifting macroeconomic expectations triggered widespread selling.
A Market in Retreat: Key Levels and Sentiment
The sell-off intensified over the weekend, pushing Bitcoin (BTC) to around $93,400 and Ethereum (ETH) to $3,050. This price action confirmed a bearish market structure, characterized by a series of lower highs and lower lows on multiple timeframes. The breach of crucial psychological supports, especially Bitcoin’s fall below the $100,000 mark, acted as a catalyst, triggering a cascade of automated selling.
Market sentiment reflected the panic, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index plummeting to a reading of 17, its lowest level since April, indicating a state of “Extreme Fear” among investors. This grim mood was set against a backdrop of a massive loss in market value, with Bitcoin alone shedding an estimated $450 billion since its peak in early October.
The Mechanics of a Sell-Off: Liquidity and Leverage
The decline was exacerbated by two critical market dynamics: evaporating liquidity and a violent unwinding of leveraged positions.
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Drying Up of Market Liquidity: A major factor behind the sharp moves was a significant reduction in market depth. Trading volumes on major spot exchanges contracted, making it difficult for the market to absorb sell orders without causing disproportionate price drops. This environment of lower liquidity exaggerated the downward momentum across major cryptocurrencies and privacy coins alike.
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Forced Liquidations: The break below key support levels led to significant forced selling in the derivatives market. If Bitcoin were to fall further to $92,840, it risked triggering an additional $62 million in liquidations. These events, where leveraged positions are automatically closed, create a vicious cycle of selling that amplifies price declines, particularly in thin markets.
Macroeconomic Winds and Institutional Pullback
The crypto market downturn did not occur in a vacuum; it was heavily influenced by a shifting macroeconomic landscape and a change in institutional behavior.
The primary macro driver was a shift in expectations for U.S. Federal Reserve policy. The market’s probability of an interest rate cut in December fell to around 50%. Higher-for-longer interest rates make holding risk-sensitive assets like cryptocurrencies less attractive, as they strengthen the U.S. dollar and increase the opportunity cost of investment.
At the same time, a key source of demand that had previously supported the market retreated. Once-reliable buyers, including large investment funds and corporate treasuries, stepped back. Concurrently, on-chain data indicated that long-term Bitcoin investors were distributing their holdings more aggressively, increasing the available supply at a time when institutional demand was waning.
A Glimmer of Contrarian Accumulation
Despite the pervasive fear, on-chain data revealed a notable counter-trend: large-scale investors, often called “whales”, began accumulating Bitcoin during the weakness. The number of unique entities holding at least 1,000 BTC rose to 1,436 over the past week, a sharp reversal from the net selling seen by this cohort for most of 2025. This suggests that some of the most sophisticated market participants viewed the lower prices as a strategic buying opportunity.
For portfolio managers and product teams, the current environment demands heightened focus on risk management. The immediate challenges are containing execution costs and reviewing margin parameters amid elevated volatility and slippage. The next critical milestones to watch are the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on interest rates and Bitcoin’s ability to hold the $92,840 level to avoid further liquidation cascades.
