Liquidations Push Bitcoin Out of World’s Top 10 Assets After Violent Selloff
A massive wave of leveraged liquidations erased hundreds of billions in value and knocked Bitcoin (BTC) out of the world’s top 10 investable assets by market capitalization. BTC fell to about $83,000, reducing its market cap to roughly $1.65 trillion and placing it 11th globally—behind Saudi Aramco and TSMC—after peaking near $2.5 trillion in October when prices briefly topped $126,000. The recent sell-off included approximately $1.6 billion in long liquidations as price plunged from near $90,000 to below $82,000. The move has raised concerns of a possible early-stage bear market for Bitcoin. The sell-off occurred amid macro uncertainty, including speculation (now confirmed) that Kevin Warsh may replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair—an appointment that still requires Senate confirmation. Bitcoin has underperformed both equities and gold despite a weaker US dollar and a record rally in gold, which has seen surging futures activity. Market-maker Wintermute warned that 2025 could break Bitcoin’s typical four-year cycle, arguing that a lasting crypto recovery likely depends on structural inflows such as expanded ETF mandates and corporate digital-asset treasury activity rather than short-term price swings. Key stats: BTC price ≈ $83,000; market cap ≈ $1.65T (ranked #11); peak market cap ≈ $2.5T (Oct); long liquidations ≈ $1.6B.
Bearish
The article describes a violent, liquidation-driven selloff that materially reduced Bitcoin’s market capitalization and ranking among global assets. Short-term impact is bearish: $1.6B in long liquidations and a rapid price fall increase volatility, trigger further deleveraging, and can prompt risk-off positioning by traders. The market underperformance versus equities and gold indicates weak momentum and a lack of supportive inflows. Historically, large forced liquidations (e.g., March 2020, various 2021/2022 crashes) have led to prolonged volatility and multi-week to multi-month consolidation or downtrends before recovery, unless offset by sustained capital inflows. Longer term the outlook is neutral-to-conditional-bullish only if structural demand returns—expanded ETF mandates, corporate treasury adoption, or persistent retail/institutional inflows—which Wintermute highlights as necessary. Absent those inflows, the event increases the probability of an extended corrective phase. Traders should expect elevated volatility, possible continuation of downside pressure in the short term, and watch ETF flows, on-chain inflows/outflows, and macro developments (Fed appointment, dollar strength) to gauge recovery potential.