Santiment: Retail Panic and FUD Drive Bitcoin’s Recent Selloff
Blockchain analytics firm Santiment says fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) has dominated crypto social media after Bitcoin fell about 16% over the past week. Santiment attributes the selloff mainly to retail traders “selling their bags,” and notes social sentiment is the most bearish among retail since the November 2025 crash. The recent downturn wiped roughly $440 billion from crypto market capitalization and returned prices to April 2025 lows; Bitcoin traded near $78,000 (nine-month lows) while Ether hovered around $2,300. Santiment flags that relief rallies often follow intense FUD-driven drops and calls the current bounce similar to prior short recoveries. CryptoQuant analysts pointed to an October leverage flush that destroyed liquidity and pushed BTC into a bear market, while other analysts highlighted macro signs (manufacturing PMI) and critical technical support at $74,000 for Bitcoin. BTC was down about 11% on the week at roughly $78,500. Key takeaways for traders: elevated bearish retail sentiment, large recent outflows, potential for short-term relief rallies but continued risk if BTC closes below $74K, and reduced market liquidity that can amplify moves.
Bearish
The article describes a retail-led selloff that erased roughly $440 billion from crypto markets, pushed BTC to nine-month lows around $78k and prompted peak bearish social sentiment. These factors point to short-term downside risk: heavy retail selling and reduced liquidity (linked to a prior October leverage flush) can amplify volatility and deepen declines. The mention of a key support at $74k makes that level critical — closes below it would likely trigger further selling. While Santiment notes relief rallies often follow FUD-driven drops, those bounces are typically short-lived absent restored liquidity and improving sentiment. Historically (e.g., November 2025 selloff), large retail capitulations produced sharp but temporary recoveries before markets needed renewed speculative demand to resume uptrends. Therefore the immediate outlook is bearish for traders, with potential trading opportunities in volatility (short-term bounces, mean-reversion trades) but elevated risk for trend-following long positions until liquidity and retail sentiment improve.