Crypto Bloodbath: Why Digital Assets Are Getting Hammered Today - August 20, 2025
Crypto markets are getting slaughtered today - and everyone's scrambling for answers.
Massive liquidations trigger domino effect across exchanges
Whales dumping positions created a cascade of margin calls that even the most sophisticated algorithms couldn't contain. The leverage built up during last month's rally turned into pure poison once support levels broke.
Regulatory uncertainty strikes again
Another vague statement from regulators about "potential framework adjustments" sent institutional players running for the exits. They're treating crypto like a hot potato - can't hold it when the regulators start whispering.
Technical breakdown accelerates selling pressure
Key support levels shattered like glass, triggering automated sell orders and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of lower prices. The charts aren't just bleeding - they're hemorrhaging.
Traditional finance guys are probably sipping martinis and saying "told you so" while their boring bonds yield less than inflation. Meanwhile, crypto degens are either doubling down or contemplating life choices.
This isn't crypto's first rodeo - and it won't be its last crash. The question isn't whether it'll recover, but how many weak hands get shaken out before the next leg up.
Crypto Winners & Losers
At the time of writing, three of the top 10 coins per market capitalization have increased over the past 24 hours, while five are down (not taking the two stablecoins into account).
dropped by 1% over the past day and below the $114,000 level, now trading at $113,720.
At the same time,dropped 0.6%, now trading at $4,202. It’s among the day’s smallest drops.
Two coins recorded increases.rose the most in this category. It’s up 1%, currently changing hands at $181.
is up by 0.6% to the price of $0.3496.
fell the most in this category: 3.7%, now trading at $2.89.
Looking at the top 100 coins, of the 12 green coins,is up 8.9% to $1.37.
On the other side,lost the most, followed by. The two are down 7.6% and 6.8% to $0.8525 and $0.02658, respectively.
Interestingly, Harvard economist and former International Monetary Fund chief economist, Kenneth Rogoff, stated that his decade-old prediction that BTC WOULD crash to $100 was fundamentally flawed, pointing to three critical miscalculations.
Almost a decade ago I was the Harvard economist that said that bitcoin was more likely to be worth $100 than 100k. What did I miss? I was far too optimistic about the US coming to its senses about sensible cryptocurrency regulation; why would policymakers want to facilitate tax…
— Kenneth S Rogoff (@krogoff) August 19, 2025‘This Short-term Correction is Just a Distraction’
Dom Harz, co-founder of, commented that the market has cooled after the world’s number one coins reached the latest all-time high near $125,000 six days ago. That said, despite this latest dip, Bitcoin is still outpacing the global crypto market, he noted.
“This short-term correction is really just noise; a minor distraction from the fact that bitcoin and, particularly Bitcoin DeFi, are undeniably rising,” Harz wrote in an email.
Mainstream and institutional adoption will continue to be a driving force behind the coin, he continued, and institutions will continue to accumulate it.
Moreover, this will drive technological developments in Bitcoin DeFi. “The potential of Bitcoin’s utility will see institutions looking to put their Bitcoin to work and accelerate the innovation that makes it possible to deploy Bitcoin natively into DeFi protocols,” Harz said.
Meanwhile, Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at, noted Bitcoin’s correction from its ATH as well, now standing at 8.4%, compared to 30% in January. However, he said, “I would be cautious about calling this increased resilience.”
“The current correction is still unfolding, and it remains uncertain at which levels it will ultimately stabilize,” he argued.
“It is also essential to consider the broader macroeconomic backdrop. A significant correction in equity markets, for example, could trigger a deeper pullback in Bitcoin as well. That said, it is true that Bitcoin’s historical volatility has been gradually declining over time. This reflects the asset’s maturation process, although the shift toward a more stable market structure is gradual and measured in years rather than months,” Lienkha concluded.
Levels & Events to Watch” Next
At the time of writing on Thursday morning, BTC trades at $113,729. Its intraday high now stands below $116,000, while the lowest point reached the $112,600 level.
Overall, BTC is now red across the 7-day and 1-month ranges. It’s still up 86% in a year.
That said, it’s probable that BTC will see additional drops during this correction, possibly below the $110,000 mark, before pushing for a recovery.
Ethereum started the day at $4,311, before falling to $4,074. It has recovered somewhat since and is currently trading at $4,202.
While its 7-day range is in the red, the price is still green over the 1-month period, having gone up 11.6%. It also appreciated by 59% in a year.
Much like with BTC, additional decreases are possible, perhaps even likely, but ETH has been outperforming BTC for a while now, so it may see another ATH sooner.
Furthermore, the crypto market sentiment continues dropping within the neutral zone. The crypto fear and greed index fell from 53 yesterday to 45 today. This is the lowest point since late June.
The market is not yet fully panicked, but it’s highly cautious. This suggests that many investors are currently selling, while others await further signals.
Meanwhile, the US BTC spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen significant outflows on Tuesday. It bled out $523.31 million in a single day. This is the highest amount since the beginning of this month.
, notably, saw no flows on Tuesday. Six others saw negative flows, the highest of which is$246.89 million, followed by$115.53 million.
On the same day, the US ETH ETFs also lost $422.30 million. This is also the highest amount since the first week of this month.
Seven of the nine funds recorded outflows. The highest among these is$156.32 million, followed by$122.05 million.
Meanwhile, in a letter on 19 August, major financial trade associations, including theand the, urged theto pause the implementation of its 1,250% capital requirement for crypto exposures.
The letter recommends eliminating permissioned versus permissionless ledger distinctions for Group 1 crypto asset eligibility, arguing that risk should focus on the underlying asset rather than blockchain infrastructure.
US Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is suggesting allowing central bank employees to hold “de minimus” amounts. of crypto.#FederalReserve #CryptoHoldings #MichelleBowmanhttps://t.co/QMk47Oq6us
Additionally, US Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman has suggested allowing central bank staff to own small amounts of crypto. “Our approach should consider allowing Fed staff to hold de minimus amounts of crypto or other types of digital assets,” Bowman said.
“Regulators must understand new products and services and recognize the utility and necessity of embracing technology in the traditional financial sector,” she said.
Quick FAQ
Both the crypto and the stock markets have largely decreased over the past day. By Tuesday’s closing time, thewas down by 0.59%, thedecreased by 1.39%, and therose by 0.023%. Investors are preparing for the Fed Chair speech this week, as well as a series of retail sector earnings reports that will show tariff impacts and consumer spending.
Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at YouHodler, commented that “over medium- and long-term horizons, the correlation between crypto and equity indices remains strong, even if short-term price action occasionally appears disconnected.”
In the short-term, yes. Analysts argue that the correction may continue. However, the markets are paying close attention to the incoming macroeconomic signals, particularly those coming from the US, such as the upcoming Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday.
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