Bitcoin plunges below $90,000 as panic selling deepens

Bitcoin’s slide accelerated this week as it went on to slip under $90,000 for the first time in seven months. The ongoing sell-off in the market has dragged the Crypto Fear & Greed Index down to 15, its most depressed reading seen since early this year. The market is in full panic mode and watching BTC drop almost 30% from its October record of roughly $126,000 in the past six weeks.

The situation right now might look catastrophic, but the fresh drawdown seems to be following a script long-time traders have already seen before. Data shows that since 2017, Bitcoin has faced more than ten drops of 25% or worse, six of 50% or worse, and three collapses of over 75%. The original crypto price has dropped by more than 15% in the last 30 days.

Every correction of such a scale in Bitcoin’s history has eventually been followed by fresh all-time highs. Analysts argue this one fits neatly into that pattern. It includes a violent, sentiment-driven washout that typically forms late-cycle bottoms rather than early-cycle tops.

Bitcoin’s November meltdown

Everything was going smoothly till the market entered November and flipped. After months of traders pricing in fast, aggressive rate cuts, Jerome Powell essentially shut the door on that idea. After the Federal Reserve, Crypto ETFs, which are seen as the backbone of this year’s rally, also stalled. Without institutional bid support, retail capitulation took over.

Sentiment has washed out and risen to all-time lows. The Fear & Greed Index hasn’t printed a 15 since the 2024 post-halving volatility. Analysts say these extremes typically mark forced selling and not the start of a prolonged downtrend. Bitcoin is also sitting on a cluster of historical support around $88,000–$90,000. However, many funds are watching this level for a potential rebound.

Mt. Gox added more fuel to the chaos. The defunct exchange moved 10,608 BTC (approximately worth $953 million) from one of its cold wallets. This turns out to be its largest transfer in the last eight months. However, the exchange still holds about $3.14 billion worth of Bitcoin. The repayments were delayed until late 2026, but any on-chain movement from Mt. Gox is enough to spook traders.

BTC price dropped by another 3% in the last 24 hours. It is trading at an average price of $91,274 at the press time. Its 24-hour trading volume spiked by 55% to stand at $116 billion. This suggests that traders are moving the funds quickly.

CoinGlass data shows that Bitcoin alone saw $563 million worth of liquidation (both long and short) in the last 24 hours. Almost $400 million (71%) of the liquidated bets turned out to be long positions. This hints that the traders were still positive about Bitcoin recovering from the dip, but the overall selling pressure took off.

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