News

November 21, 2025

Bitcoin Crash: Massive Sell-off Leads to $2 Billion Liquidation as Value Drops Below $3 Trillion Mark

"Distressed Bitcoin coin dramatically shattering to denote lost value, with a faint downward graph in the background indicating a market crash. Image predominantly features Dark Blue and Midnight Blue with Orange accents, highlighting the title 'Crypto Market Washout', surrounded by subtle hints of various damaged cryptocurrencies to suggest a widespread crypto market crisis."
A wave of liquidations swept across the crypto market on Friday, leading to the obliteration of almost $2 billion in leveraged positions as Bitcoin dunked to a low of $82,000. The drastic fall took the total crypto market capitalization beneath the $3 trillion mark, an event that hasn’t been seen since spring. Massive data from CoinGlass indicates that more than 396,000 traders had their dreams wiped out. The biggest casualty was a $36.78 million BTC-USD order, displaced on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange. One point to note here is that the liquidation figure is far from perfect. While Bybit offers real-time figures in full, other players like Binance and OKX offer partial or delayed reports on liquidation. Therefore, this implies the actual figures of compulsory unwinds are likely way higher than the reported headline numbers suggest.

Deepening ETF outflows as liquidity evaporates

This most recent fall came hot on the heels of successive blowouts this month. These explosive events were fueled by ever-increasing ETF outflows and a blend of macro sentiments, pushing BTC to multi-month lows. As reported, bitcoin ETFs saw a whopping $903 million in net outflows on Thursday alone, the second largest since their inception. Observers have attributed such dips to redemptions by Wall Street. Bitcoin’s value has now dipped over 30% from its all-time high in October, thereby setting it on course for its worst monthly performance since the 2022 plummet. Consequently, Bitcoin is on track for its least effective Q4 since the 2018 crash – a significant turnaround for a quarter historically acknowledged for delivering top-notch crypto returns. According to BRN’s Head of Research, Timothy Misir, the drastic plunge pushed the Fear & Greed Index to 11, signaling an environment of ‘extreme distress.’ Misir noted that a seeming reduction in liquidity was approaching a full-scale vacuum as the broader crypto market slid, once again, into lows reminiscent of the second quarter of 2025. Misir emphasized that Bitcoin’s fall below the Active Investors Mean now shifts the focus to the True Market Mean at $81.9K – a widely observed cost-basis cluster he described as ‘the next major line preceding full bear confirmation.’

Intermix of macro intensifies pressure, offers no relief

US jobs data released earlier, showing an unexpected increase of 119,000 jobs, alleviated fears of a recession but complicated expectations for a rate cut in December. Kevin Hassett, the White House’s nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, made things even more complex by saying that pausing cuts would be ‘a very bad time.’ He cited cooling inflation and the impact of the government shutdown on growth. Japan’s $135 billion stimulus package offered some support, but it wasn’t powerful enough to counterbalance the strong wave of deleveraging already prevalent in the crypto industry. Short-term holders are now receiving losses at ‘cycle-comparable extremes,’ according to on-chain data. BRN’s records show that these realized-loss spikes have now reached levels last seen during the most significant corrections of 2021 and mid-2024.

‘Max-pain zone’ potentially in sight

Crucial external markers entered the fray on Friday as experts from institutional circles attempted to put the drawdown into perspective. Bitwise Europe research head Andre Dragosch suggested that Bitcoin may be nearing a so-called ‘max-pain zone.’ These are segments where the largest institutional cost bases are located and are typically where forced sellers run out of steam. Dragosch believes that Bitcoin’s resolve will be test when it approaches two anchor levels; $84,000 and $73,000. The $84,000 zone aligns roughly with the average cost basis of BlackRock’s IBIT, the leading spot bitcoin ETF in the US. A decisive fall below this zone would mean the largest ETF group is underwater. The lower boundary at $73,000 is equivalent to MicroStrategy’s overall cost basis. Bitcoin was trading at around $82,500, marking a nearly 10% decline over the last 24 hours. All major altcoins, including Ether, SOL and BNB, also saw double-digit losses in breadth with the market slump.

#

image
image
James Carter

Financial Analyst & Content Creator | Expert in Cryptocurrency & Forex Education

James Carter is an experienced financial analyst, crypto educator, and content creator with expertise in crypto, forex, and financial literacy. Over the past decade, he has built a multifaceted career in market analysis, community education, and content strategy. At AltSignals.io, James leads content creation for English-speaking audiences, developing articles, webinars, and guides that simplify complex market trends and trading strategies. Known for his ability to make technical finance topics accessible, he empowers both new and seasoned investors to make informed decisions in the ever-evolving world of digital finance.

Latest posts by James Carter

Latest posts from the category News

Responsive Image