Bitcoin price dips to multi‑month lows under $100K, ZK, XPL buck market downturn

Bearish momentum across the market pushed Bitcoin to multi-month lows below $100,000 today.

The total crypto market cap slipped to levels last seen in July, falling from intraday highs of around $3.56 trillion to $3.39 trillion during early Asian trading hours.

It later recovered above the $3.5 trillion mark by the end of the session.

Capturing the prevailing panic, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index sat deep in the extreme fear zone with a reading of 23.

Still, a few major altcoins managed to defy the broader trend backed by individual developments and posted modest gains by the close of Asian trading.

Why is Bitcoin price falling?

Bitcoin slipped below six figures on multiple occasions as macro uncertainty continued to weigh heavily on risk appetite. 

The extended US government shutdown, now entering its 36th day, has created a policy vacuum that is unsettling markets across the board. 

With no resolution in sight, investor confidence remains under pressure, especially in volatile sectors like crypto.

Concerns over the Federal Reserve’s stance have only added to the gloom.

Although the central bank implemented a 25 basis point rate cut in late October, Chair Jerome Powell has made it clear that further easing in December is far from guaranteed. 

The lack of clarity has left investors second-guessing their exposure, prompting many to exit high-risk positions preemptively.

A broader selloff in tech stocks, driven in part by questions surrounding the sustainability of AI-driven valuations, has also contributed to a global capital flight from risk assets. 

Institutional investors, in particular, have begun rotating out of crypto, with several Bitcoin ETFs seeing major outflows.

This retreat from the sector is dragging on market sentiment, reinforcing the bearish spiral.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $577 million in outflows on Tuesday alone, marking the fifth straight day of redemptions and bringing total outflows to nearly $2 billion over the past week. 

Ethereum ETFs have also bled more than $700 million during the same period, suggesting that sentiment has turned across the board.

Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations topped $1.71 billion, according to CoinGlass data, with 427,908 traders wiped out. 

Ethereum accounted for the largest share at $582.85 million, followed by Bitcoin at $489.22 million. 

Long positions made up the bulk of the damage, with $1.29 billion liquidated, compared to $413.23 million in shorts.

Amid this flush of forced selling, traders have become increasingly cautious.

Many have either sidelined their capital or cut their holdings entirely to avoid getting caught in similar wipeouts. 

Open interest in crypto futures has continued to slide, dropping by another 4.67% in the last 24 hours to $141 billion.

In options markets, bearish bets are piling up, with a significant share of traders now positioning for a drop to $80000.

Institutional flows have further underscored the fragile state of demand.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $577 million in outflows on Tuesday alone, marking the fifth straight day of redemptions and bringing total outflows to nearly $2 billion over the past week. 

Adding to the pressure, whale wallets have been actively offloading coins.

Bloomberg reported earlier today that long-term Bitcoin holders have sold more than 400000 BTC, worth over $45 billion, over the past few weeks.

Mid-tier whales have also pulled back, with wallets holding between 100 and 1000 BTC reducing their accumulation.

This slowdown in buying points to a lack of conviction even among seasoned players, deepening the sense of unease across the market. 

The selloff has introduced fresh downward pressure just as support levels were starting to crack.

Bitcoin fell below key support levels, which sparked more panic among traders, triggering liquidations and margin calls across exchanges.

As such, Bitcoin’s steep correction appears to be the product of both macro headwinds and internal market dynamics, an uneasy combination that has pushed sentiment into extreme fear and left traders bracing for more pain.

Will Bitcoin price go up?

Whether or not short term bullish momentum returns is heavily dependent on whether Bitcoin price can stabilise above key support levels.

According to the 24-hour liquidation heatmap for Bitcoin, just as the flagship crypto’s price slipped beneath the $100000 mark, dip buyers stepped in near the lower band of the day’s liquidation range.

This rebound helped push prices back above $102000 during US trading hours, suggesting that some sidelined capital returned to the market once oversold levels were hit.

On the downside, the liquidation clusters remain dense between $98,000 and $1,00,000, implying that another sweep of those levels could trigger a fresh round of long liquidations. 

The area around $96000 appears especially vulnerable, with limited support below that zone, meaning if Bitcoin loses its current footing, the path toward $90000 could accelerate rapidly. 

Traders are watching these levels closely as failed retests could worsen the drawdown.

On the upside, there is visible resistance around $104,000 to $105,500, where liquidation heat has begun to build. 

A move above those levels would likely catch overleveraged shorts off guard and trigger short squeezes, helping Bitcoin reclaim lost ground. 

For that to happen, however, price action will need to stay constructive and avoid repeated failures around the $103,000 handle, where previous attempts have faltered.

In the short term, Bitcoin needs to consolidate above $1,01,500 and establish higher lows to create a more stable footing. 

Reclaiming $1,05,000 convincingly could open the door for further upside, but any rejection near that band may send price back into the same liquidation zones that rattled markets earlier today.

Momentum now hinges on whether traders interpret this rebound as a dead cat bounce or the beginning of a more durable recovery.

According to crypto analyst BitBull, as long as Bitcoin manages to close a weekly candle above its 50-SMA level, which is around $103,000, it would mean the bullish narrative remains intact.

“In the past 2 instances, Bitcoin closed a weekly candle above this level and continued the bull run. If this happens again, consider the dump as a shakeout and not a bear market,” the analyst wrote.

Fellow trader and analyst Ted Pillows also tracked Bitcoin’s moving averages but outlined a more cautious scenario that could play out if the asset fails to close above its 50-week EMA, currently hovering around $100,893.

“A weekly close below EMA-50 means the dump is just the beginning,” he warned.

Meanwhile veteran analyst The Wolf of All Streets downplayed today’s correction, referring to it as a part of the broader rally. See below.

Why are you all freaking out? 217 Reply Copy link Other analysts like Gordon, however, pointed to possible bullish catalysts tied to macro developments, which in this case would be the ongoing US government shutdown coming to a close.

Gordon noted that during the last major shutdown between December 2018 and January 2019, Bitcoin rallied roughly 50% within three months once the political deadlock was resolved.

“Bears will be punished again,” he wrote, implying that the current decline may set the stage for a relief rally once policy clarity returns.

When writing, Bitcoin bulls had managed to reclaim the $103,000  mark, still down 1.3% in the past 24 hours.

Top altcoin gainers

The total market capitalization of all altcoins fell from 41.49 trillion to $1.32 trillion earlier on the day before recovering from most of its losses and settling at $1.47 trillion at press time, down 1.7% in the period.

Ethereum (ETH), the leading altcoin by market share, led the losses as it dropped from $3,500 to under $3,100 before ETH managed to bring the altcoin back above $3,360, still down 5.4% over the day.

Other large-cap altcoins such as XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Chainlink (LINK) experienced milder losses on the day, ranging between 1-3%. Tron (TRX) stood as the only exception among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, as it held onto 2% gains over the period.

When looking at a broader range of the top 99 altcoins, ZKsync (ZK) led with gains of 47.6% while Plasma (XPL) and Zcash (ZEC) followed with gains of 24% and 16% respectively.

Source: CoinMarketCap ZKsync: ZK’s surge today follows multiple bullish developments from its core development team. 

In a recent announcement, the developers revealed a significant upgrade to the token’s functionality that’s expected to enhance its role within the broader ecosystem. 

Beyond its existing use in governance, the ZK token will now also power interoperability fees for moving assets between ZKsync and Prividiums chains.

It’s also being positioned for enterprise adoption, enabling banks and institutions to license advanced modules off-chain, further expanding its real-world application.

But perhaps more impactful to the tokenomics is the addition of features like staking rewards, a built-in burn mechanism, and a roadmap geared toward reducing long-term inflation.

These changes are designed to tighten supply over time while incentivizing participation across the ecosystem.

ZK’s gain was also fueled by the unveiling of Atlas, an ambitious network upgrade designed to significantly boost performance across the ZKsync ecosystem.

Plasma: While no particular catalyst could be identified for the XPL rally, analysts note that it probably came from traders buying the token after it touched a potential bottom.

However, one concern looming over the token is the sharp rise in its exchange balance.

Data shows that the total amount of ZK held across all centralized exchanges has surged by nearly 60% in the past 24 hours.

This sudden spike could be a sign that some early investors, possibly those who held through last month’s downturn and consolidation, are now preparing to offload their bags following the recent price rally.

Zcash: Zcash’s gains were driven by rising surveillance concerns and increasing regulatory pressure on transparent blockchains like Bitcoin, which has pushed investors toward more privacy-focused alternatives.

With growing regulatory pressure on transparent chains like Bitcoin, investors are shifting toward privacy-focused alternatives.

Galaxy Digital analysts recently called Zcash the “spiritual successor” to Bitcoin, citing its privacy-first design.

Influential investor and entrepreneur, Naval Ravikant, also drew attention to the token by describing Zcash as “insurance against Bitcoin,” prompting renewed interest from investors.

The rally is further supported by hype around the upcoming Zcash halving in November 2025, which will reduce block rewards and potentially tighten supply.

Markets appear to be pricing in this event early. Furthermore, the amount of ZEC tokens held in shielded pools has climbed to an all-time high.

This feat not only raises investor confidence in the network’s privacy guarantees but also removes tokens from liquid circulation, further reducing sell-side pressure.

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