Crypto Market Tumbles: What’s Driving the December 1, 2025 Sell-Off?

Crypto markets bled red today—a sudden plunge wiping billions from portfolios. The dip wasn't random; it followed a predictable script of fear and leverage.

The Liquidity Squeeze

Exchanges saw massive liquidations cascade through perpetual futures markets. Over-leveraged long positions got wiped first, triggering stop-losses that fed the downward spiral. It's the same old story: too much debt in the system acts like dry tinder.

Regulatory Tremors

Rumors swirled about a major financial authority drafting stricter capital requirements for crypto custodians. Never mind that the proposal is months from implementation—markets traded the headline, not the reality. Traders panic-sold first, planning to ask questions later. A classic case of shooting first and reading the fine print never.

Technical Breakdown

Key support levels on major pairs shattered like glass. Bitcoin broke below its 50-day moving average, and altcoins followed with amplified losses. The charts told a simple story: momentum flipped, and algorithmic traders piled on the pressure.

The Silver Lining?

For disciplined investors, these shakesouts clear weak hands and reset overbought conditions. Volatility isn't a bug; it's a feature. Today's panic creates tomorrow's opportunity—just ask anyone who bought the last dip. Remember, in crypto, the 'smart money' often just means whoever didn't panic-sell at a loss to chase traditional yields that barely beat inflation.

Crypto Winners & Losers

At the time of writing, 8 of the top 10 coins per market capitalization have seen their prices fall over the past 24 hours.

fell by 5.3% since this time yesterday, currently trading at $86,153.

is down by 6%, now changing hands at $2,823. This is the lowest change in the category.

The highest drop is8.2% to the price of $0.1368.

It’s followed by, having dropped 7.2%, now trading at $126.

At the same time, the smallest decrease in this category is 1.2% by, currently changing hands at $0.2766.

In the top 100 coins, 96 recorded decreases. Among these, a dozen saw double-digit falls.

fell 21.8% to the price of $359.

It’s followed by, which decreased by 17.7%, now trading at $0.2386.

On the green side,and. The former appreciated 10.2% to $1.4, while the latter increased by 2.9% to $0.00712.

Meanwhile,data showed about $608 million in crypto liquidations in the past 24 hours.

Longs accounted for more than $535 million, while shorts saw about $73 million. BTC and ETH led the list, with roughly $185 million and $154 million cleared out, respectively.

Investors are looking for further macroeconomic signals, such as US data releases and thespeeches, which WOULD indicate it the drops is a short-term correction or a section of a longer trend.

BTC Rally May Continue Soon

John Glover, Chief Investment Officer of, commented that we’re currently in the Wave IV correction. It typically completes “at either the 23.6% fibbo or the 38.2% fibbo. If this is true in the current situation, we have already finished Wave IV and we should now resume the uptrend,” he says.

However, there’s the Rule of Alternation that states that if Wave II is a very simple A-B-C correction – which it was in this case – Wave IV tends to be more complex. “What we’ve seen thus far in this correction has been rapid and quite simple in its formation.”

Per Glover, “we will see a lot of “directionless volatility” over the coming months, with the low being set somewhere between $71k and $80k. Once that base has fully formed, the rally will continue into the end of 2026/beginning of 2027 with a target of $145k to $160k depending on where the bottom of Wave IV finalizes.”

Moreover, Dom Harz, co-founder of, despite BTC’s and the wider market’s recent volatility, Optimism remains high.

“2025 won’t be remembered for price fluctuations, but by the steady march of regulatory progress, institutional engagement, and technological developments, driving the convergence of TradFi and DeFi,” he says.

Harz concluded that “ultimately, price is not the only indicator for how the industry is progressing. During the last downturn, we saw major innovations in projects and DeFi protocols that played a pivotal role in the next upturn.”

Levels & Events to Watch Next

At the time of writing on Monday morning, BTC stood at $86,153. Earlier today, the price recorded a sharp decrease from the intraday high of $91,904 to the low of $85,694.

BTC is down 0.6% over the past 7 days, moving in the similar range between $85,788 and $92,346. It’s also down 21.5% in a month and 31.7% from the all-time high of $126,080 recorded in October.

If it continues dropping, BTC could MOVE towards $81,030. That would risk a fall below $80,000 for the first time in eight months. Alternatively, a reclaim of $98,279 could open doors towards $103,574 and $108,753.

Ethereum is currently changing hands at $2,823. Like BTC, ETH saw a sharp decline from the day’s high of $3,050 to the low of $2,809.

Over the past week, the coin moved between $2,796 and $3,072, staying unchanged in this timeframe. It’s also down 42.9% from the August ATH of $4,946.

A close above $3,108 may signal a recovery and further increases to $3,666 and eventually $4,200. Yet, a fall below $3,000 could pull the coin below $2,800, then $2,632, where a critical support level currently sits.

According to crypto analytics platform, low stablecoin yields show the crypto market is not overheated, and ETH may be poised for a short-term rebound.

Meanwhile, the crypto market sentiment has remained unchanged since Friday. The crypto fear and greed index still stands at 20 today, residing in the fear zone.

Market participants remain highly cautious and uncertain. The sentiment suggests a need for additional macroeconomic signals.

ETFs Go Green on Short Day

The US markets were closed on Thursday for the country’s Thanksgiving holiday, then worked shorter on Friday.

On Friday, 28 November, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw inflows of $71.37 million. This raised the total net inflow slightly to $57.71 billion.

Four of the 12 BTC ETFs recorded inflows, and one saw outflows. At the green top we findwith positive flows of $88.04 million. It’s followed by$77.45 million.

On the red side,recorded outflows of $113.72 million.

Moreover, the US ETH ETFs recorded a fifth day straight of positive flows, adding $76.55 million on Friday. The total net inflow increased to $12.94 billion.

Two of the nine funds recorded inflows, and none saw outflows.is at the top with $68.27 million, accounting for the vast majority of the day’s flows.

It’s followed bywith $8.28 million in inflows.

Meanwhile,the first US spot exchange-traded fund tied toas early as this week, according to Nate Geraci, co-founder of.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas argued that it could debut on 2 December, citing internal listings data.

He added that more than 100 new digital-asset-linked ETFs over the next six months could be coming to the US market, starting with this week.

Note: our 100 estimate includes '40 Act stuff too, which includes 2x. Tons of spot tho. Land rush in effect no matter how you define it.

Quick FAQ

The crypto market has posted a decrease over the past 24 hours. The US stock market had a shortened session on Black Friday. By the closing time on 28 November, thewas up by 0.54%, theincreased by 0.78%, and therose by 0.61%.

Investors are looking for further macroeconomic signals, such as US data releases and the Federal Reserve speeches, which would indicate it the drops is a short-term correction or a section of a longer trend. A fresh batch of economic data releases is expected to come this week – but since this is relatively old data, delayed by the government shutdown, it may be outdated, so Fed comments are considered more relevant.