Bitcoin temporarily drops below $87,000! Over 220,000 traders have been forced liquidated across the entire crypto market.

The cryptocurrency market continued its decline on November 20, dropping over 4% for Bitcoin, which fell below $87,000 for the first time since April.

As of the press release on November 21, Bitcoin was priced at $87,632, with a drop of 4.28%.

Ethereum fell over 5%, and Cardano dropped over 3%.

Coinglass data showed that over 220,000 users were liquidated in the cryptocurrency market within 24 hours, with $814 million (approximately 5.8 billion RMB) wiped out.

Analysts pointed out that this decline in cryptocurrency is mainly due to a new wave of risk aversion and the sell-off of tech stocks. Former support forces—including large investment funds, ETF allocators, and corporate treasurers—have exited, causing Bitcoin to lose an important pillar that supported its significant rise this year and triggering the market to enter a new vulnerable phase.

Analysts from 10X Research stated that the cryptocurrency market has entered a “confirmed bear market phase.” Weak ETF inflows, continued selling by long-term holders, and low willingness among retail investors all indicate that market sentiment is deteriorating quietly.

“Cryptocurrencies are facing massive sell-offs by whale investors following a four-year cycle logic, and this phase usually coincides with price declines,” said James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares. “Although we do not believe this theory holds fundamentally, it has become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, with large holders selling over $20 billion in assets since September.”

At the same time, U.S. stocks have also experienced renewed volatility due to valuation concerns regarding AI themes and cooling expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December. Nvidia’s earnings report briefly ignited AI sentiment, but the upward momentum quickly dissipated. In contrast, cryptocurrencies remain deeply entrenched in their own deleveraging and the downturn cycle driven by declining retail demand, with this “cross-asset divergence” becoming increasingly evident since early October.

The options market is also paying attention to key support levels below. According to data from Deribit, owned by Coinbase (COIN.US), demand for downside protection is strongest near $85,000, followed by $82,000, indicating that traders are preparing for further declines.

Strategists noted in their analysis: “The collapse in cryptocurrencies has stripped the market of major speculative outlets. In the current environment, crypto assets are no longer the ‘canary in the coal mine,’ but rather the mine itself, collapsing under their own leverage burden.”

Moreover, macroeconomic uncertainties have exacerbated market tension. Jake Ostrovskis, head of over-the-counter trading at Wintermute, pointed out: “In the absence of key economic data, the policy path of the Fed remains unclear, and this uncertainty suppresses investor risk appetite more than any other factor, especially in high-risk assets.”

Industry insiders noted that for the crypto market, macro signals are merely the spark that ignites the fuse. Since last year, institutional allocations, spot ETF inflows, and corporate-level crypto asset allocations provided price support in the first half of the year, but as the interest rate window closes and sentiment turns defensive, these external pillars tend to withdraw faster than retail liquidity.

Daily Economic News compiled from public information

(Editor: Wenjing)

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                                                            Bitcoin