There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin

CA$118,959.57

󰍾

1.45%

Ethereum

CA$3,875.76

󰍾

1.81%

Tether

CA$1.41

󰢸

0.06%

XRP

CA$2.75

󰍾

1.28%

BNB

CA$1,177.69

󰍾

2.95%

USDC

CA$1.41

󰍲

0.00%

See the latest prices

MARKET BYTES

BTC dropped below $90,000 for the first time since April

In early October, bitcoin capped a historic rally — fueled by the adoption of crypto ETFs by Wall Street, the rise of crypto treasury companies, the most pro-crypto president and congress in U.S. history, regulatory tailwinds, and much more — with a new all-time high north of $126,000. 

Since then, however, the picture has grown murkier. After a month of muted markets, BTC, ETH, and the broader crypto asset class took a sharp downward turn this week, shedding virtually all of the year’s gains. 

Compared to bitcoin’s October high, BTC was down around 26% on Monday, with prices falling below $90,000 for the first time since April. ETH dipped below $3,000, the lowest price in four months. On Wednesday afternoon, both cryptocurrencies continued to fall from those levels.

Smaller tokens took the biggest hit. “The MarketVector Digital Assets 100 Small-Cap Index, which tracks the 50 smallest digital assets in a basket of 100, fell to its lowest level since November 2020 on Sunday before paring some losses,” noted Bloomberg.

What’s been shaking markets, and what do experts predict will happen next? Here’s what you need to know…

Why did crypto take such a big dip this week? 

There are a lot of interconnected theories. One factor, according to Bloomberg, is that the appetite for more volatile asset classes (which include crypto and AI-related stocks) has flipped after many participants bought in at near-historic highs and suddenly found themselves in the red.

Major players include crypto treasury companies, which in recent months bought billions of dollars in BTC, ETH, and other tokens. While the largest of those firms, Strategy, took advantage of the dip to buy another $835 million in BTC, companies that took huge positions in ETH and smaller tokens are suddenly in a more precarious position. 

“Ether is very vulnerable to this theme as the biggest digital asset treasury firms are currently underwater on their positions,” said Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata.

Another headwind has been increasing fears that the Federal Reserve will pause interest-rate cuts starting in December. As The Block noted, “Even a marginal shift in rate expectations was enough to tighten financial conditions and prompt deleveraging of risk assets.”

And outside of macroeconomic factors, some analysts are pointing to Bitcoin’s four-year halving cycle as a potential self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Altcoin ETF debuts show no sign of slowing down

Even as markets are struggling, a flurry of new altcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has been rolling out, steadily increasing the number of digital assets traders can access via conventional stock markets. 

Bitwise’s Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) had a blockbuster debut in October, with $57 million in trade volume on its first day. It now manages $550 million in assets. Then last week, a new XRP ETF, Canary Capital’s XRPC, had an even stronger launch with $58 million in first-day trade volume, the most of any new ETF in 2025 and far exceeding expectations. 

This week, fund giant VanEck has launched a new Solana ETF and Grayscale is preparing a DOGE ETF for possible debut next week. “We'll see, won't be 100% till exchange notice, but based on SEC guidance it looks good,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on X. 

Rolling out… The SEC is reviewing applications for around 90 more crypto ETFs. “We will continue to see new ETF products enter the market,” Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, told Decrypt. “It won’t be a surge, but a steady pace as the marketplace increases its interest in and acceptance of crypto as a legitimate

TAKES

What analysts think might be next for crypto markets

With bitcoin down around 25% since the Oct. 10 crash, and various altcoins down 50% or more, analysts are debating some big questions. How long will this downturn last? And are we in a bear market?

Some say yes, pointing to a liquidity crunch and few obvious catalysts ahead. But many analysts also see a light at the end of the tunnel, predicting that this will be a short-term correction that could lead to upside for crypto markets as we near the end of Q4. 

Here’s what some analysts had to say…

“I expect Bitcoin and most cryptos to keep falling.” — Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. 

While BTC is still up meaningfully since President Trump’s election win last year, it has erased all its 2025 gains so far and crypto markets could be showing some signs of exhaustion, Bloomberg notes. And with gold and stocks sitting near all-time highs, McGlone calls bitcoin the “tip of the risk-assets iceberg and melting.”

“The sentiment in retail crypto is so bad that there could still be some downside in the market.” — Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management. 

With the Crypto Fear & Greed Index firmly in “Extreme Fear” territory, sentiment is near its lowest point of the year — and that’s after the market has been in decline for more than a month. Amid fears that bitcoin could have peaked in line with the “four year cycle” theory, Hougan believes many retail investors are opting to cut their losses, rather than sit through another major drawdown. Previously, bitcoin’s price has topped in four-year intervals, in 2013, 2017, and 2021. 

“People are afraid that the four-year cycle might repeat, and they don’t want to live through another 50% pullback. People are front-running that by stepping out of the market,” said Hougan, adding that he believes prices will rebound in 2026.

“Our view of the sell off is that this leverage flush was a necessary reset for crypto markets rather than a cycle top.” — Coinbase Institutional in their most recent monthly report.

The sell-off since Oct. 10 has helped restore leverage to healthier levels, after months of high-leveraged perps trading dominated crypto markets and helped inflate asset prices. But because the sell-off was triggered by deleveraging and not fundamental factors, the report says, institutional players who weren’t exposed to leverage are likely to help lead the next leg higher for prices. Still, it could take some months for prices to recover, and for market dynamics to stabilize.

“In the aftermath of the sell off, we’re actually more confident that the crypto market has directional upside, though we think crypto positioning in the next few months will be defined less by headline catalysts and more by market-structure repair,” noted the report. 

“The current market environment does not feel like a cycle-peak to us.” — Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani. 

Despite Bitcoin’s decline into correction territory, Bernstein’s Gautam Chhugani says that it is likely to be a short-term correction and not the start of a major downturn. The decline, he argues, is being triggered by investor anxiety over the four-year cycle, creating somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

One sign that this decline could end sooner rather than later? Of the roughly $38 billion of BTC sold by long-term holders in the past six months, $34 billion has been absorbed by spot ETF inflows and corporate treasuries, a sign of rising institutional ownership that reduces the likelihood of a deeper sell-off. BTC could establish a bottom around $80,000, says Bernstein, which is where it was priced in the days after the 2024 election. 

“A rising tide doesn’t lift all boats — it only lifts the quality ones,” — Pratik Kala, of Australia-based hedge fund Apollo Crypto, in reference to altcoins, which recently touched a 5-year low. 

While in past bull cycles smaller cap tokens have outpaced larger sized ones, the opposite has been true this time around. And since the recent crash, investors have been avoiding the riskiest altcoins altogether.

A broader altcoin rally would likely take a massive shift in liquidity and sentiment from here: “Altcoins historically require two ingredients to thrive: excess liquidity and euphoric sentiment,” said Derek Lim, research lead at Caladan. “Neither is currently present.”

NUMBERS TO KNOW

$443 million 

The amount that Harvard’s endowment holds in bitcoin, after approximately tripling its position during Q3 of this year. While it’s a small allocation of the university’s $57 billion dollar endowment fund, the increased position highlights the institution’s changing view toward bitcoin. 

$100 million

The amount that El Salvador added to their BTC holdings this week, as bitcoin fell below $90,000 for the first time since April. The country now holds 7,447 BTC, worth around $700 million at current prices.

$1 million

Size of the Czech National Bank’s “test portfolio” of digital assets, which include bitcoin, a USD stablecoin, and tokenized deposits. The holdings are part of a pilot program that are meant to give the central bank direct experience with onchain assets over the next several years.

17%

The share of Americans who say they’d rather receive crypto than a traditional gift card this holiday season, according to a recent poll from National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) and PayPal. The poll also found that nearly 25% of adults were considering giving crypto this holiday season.

TOKEN TRIVIA

What is bitcoin’s maximum supply?

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