Bitcoin crashed below $87,000 in the early hours of Thursday, hitting a low of $86,767 — its lowest level since April — before bouncing modestly. The move triggered a cascade of liquidations that wiped out nearly $1 billion in leveraged positions in just 24 hours, marking one of the most violent single-day corrections in the asset’s history.
The flagship cryptocurrency is now down almost 30% from its all-time high of $126,000 reached in early October, erasing more than $1 trillion in total cryptocurrency market value since that peak.
The sudden drop came amid a perfect storm of negative catalysts: a major early Bitcoin whale completing a full exit, billionaire Ray Dalio reiterating long-standing concerns about Bitcoin’s vulnerabilities, and a broader risk-off move in global equities.
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Liquidation Bloodbath
According to CoinGlass data, over $910 million in positions were liquidated across centralized and decentralized exchanges in the past 24 hours, with $250 million wiped out in a single hour during the sharpest hour of selling. More than 220,000 traders were forced out of their positions.
| Metric | Value | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Total Liquidations | $910 million | 24 hours |
| Peak Hourly Liquidations | $250 million | 1 hour |
| Traders Liquidated | 220,000+ | 24 hours |
| Long Positions Liquidated | ~$785 million | 24 hours |
| Short Positions Liquidated | ~$125 million | 24 hours |
The vast majority of liquidations were long positions, confirming the move was a classic leveraged squeeze that punished bulls who had piled in during the October-November rally.
OG Whale Dumps Final 11,000 BTC
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence confirmed that early Bitcoin adopter Owen Gunden, who has been accumulating since 2011, transferred his final 2,499 BTC (worth approximately $217 million at the time of transfer) to Kraken on Thursday morning, completing the sale of his entire 11,000 BTC stack valued at roughly $1.3 billion at peak prices.
“OGs don’t move size for fun; they do it to dump,” one prominent trader posted on X, a sentiment that spread rapidly across Crypto Twitter.
Ray Dalio: “Bitcoin Can Be Hacked with Quantum Computing”
Adding fuel to the fire, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio appeared on CNBC Thursday and reiterated his long-held skepticism:
“I think the problem with Bitcoin is that it’s not going to be a reserve currency for major countries because it can be tracked, and it could be conceivably controlled, hacked, and so on with quantum computing.”
Dalio disclosed he keeps only about 1% of his portfolio in Bitcoin, a position he has maintained for years.
ETF Flows Show First Inflow in a Week — But Too Little, Too Late?
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $75 million in net inflows on November 19, ending a brutal five-day outflow streak that saw more than $2 billion withdrawn — including a record single-day outflow of $523 million from BlackRock’s IBIT on November 18.
The modest inflow was driven entirely by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, while most other funds remained flat or negative.
Market Sentiment at Extreme Fear Levels
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index plunged to 11 — its lowest reading since the 2022 bear market lows — signaling widespread panic among retail and institutional participants alike.
On-chain metrics paint a picture of capitulation among short-term holders. Between November 14 and November 19, 148,241 BTC were sent to exchanges at a loss by investors who had held for less than 155 days, pushing the Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio to 0.97 — meaning the average short-term holder is now selling at a loss.
Is This the Final Flush?
While some analysts see the current capitulation as a potential bottoming signal — “weak hands are being cleansed” — others warn of further downside, with one prominent voice calling for a drop toward $10,000 if support fails.
Bitcoin’s 90-day correlation with the S&P 500 remains above 0.75, the highest since 2022, undermining its narrative as “digital gold” and exposing it to the same macro forces hammering tech stocks.
As of press time, Bitcoin is trading around $88,400, up 1.8% from its intraday low but still down 12% in the past seven days.
The question now is whether the worst is over — or whether this is only the beginning of a deeper bear phase.
The market will have its answer soon. In crypto, it always does.