Bitcoin Plunges Below $87K: A Week’s Worth of Gains Evaporates in Mere Hours

Three hours. That's all it took for Bitcoin to erase an entire week of hard-fought progress, slicing through the $87,000 support level like it wasn't even there.

The Anatomy of a Flash Crash

Markets don't move in straight lines—they breathe, they correct, they shake out weak hands. This wasn't a gentle pullback; it was a coordinated sell-off that bypassed all the usual technical defenses. Liquidity vanished, stop-losses triggered en masse, and the charts printed a red candle that'll be studied for weeks.

What's Next for the King Coin?

Volatility isn't a bug in crypto; it's the core feature. Sharp corrections have historically been the entry ticket for the next leg up, separating the tourists from the true believers. The fundamentals haven't changed—adoption continues, institutions are still building, and the monetary policy thesis remains intact. This is just the market's way of collecting a stress tax from over-leveraged positions.

Remember: in traditional finance, they'd call this a 'black swan' and hold emergency meetings. In crypto, we call it Tuesday. Now, who's buying the dip?

A sharp weekend selloff and what triggered it

The selloff began late Sunday when bitcoin dropped from its consolidation range above $91,000 to $86,950. The Kobeissi Letter, which tracks global macro trends, noted that BTC fell $4,000 within minutes with no news catalyst, calling the drop “structural” rather than “fundamental.” 

The report said a sudden rush of selling volume triggered a domino effect, amplified by the liquidation of historically high Leveraged positions.

Crypto's liquidity issue:

As seen countless times this year, Friday night and Sunday night often come with LARGE crypto moves.

Just now, we saw Bitcoin fall -$4,000 in a matter of minutes without ANY news at all.

Why? Liquidity is thin.

Then, add this to the fact that… https://t.co/BTRNPV8Y5a

Within an hour, $400 million in positions were wiped out. Over the last 24 hours, total liquidations climbed to $615.25 million, affecting more than 205,900 traders, according to CoinGlass. Nearly 90% of liquidations were long positions, mostly in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Market reaction: High volumes, shifting sentiment

The rapid liquidation dropped the capitalization of the global crypto market by 4.9% to $3.02 trillion and trading volumes shot up to over $110 billion in a rush reaction by retail and institutional traders.

Bitcoin has a dominance of 57.1%, which indicates that even though it is volatile, BTC is the main asset that determines the overall market sentiment. ethereum has a market share of 11.3%.

Some analysts argue that investors are moving to the traditional safe-haven assets. Silver and other precious metals outperformed over the weekend, prompting speculation about an asset rotation from digital risk to hard money.

Macro analyst Sunil described the MOVE on X as “Paper wealth → Hard money,” pointing to silver’s rally while Bitcoin corrected. However, this idea remains controversial since BTC has repeatedly rebounded from similar pullbacks this year.

Technical levels and fear of deeper corrections

Analysts are also watching whether BTC can defend the $87,000 and $80,000 support zones. One trader warned that Bitcoin is close to forming a bearish 2-1-2 pattern, which could trigger a “wipeout move” if $80,000 breaks. This WOULD theoretically pull BTC to $48,000, which is a 45% decrease to the present levels.

Bitcoin not a good open to start the week!

Much clsoer to becoming 2-1-2d as a measured move. This tends to cause a 'wipe out' type move if we successfully break through 80.00

Could see as low as 48k if we see the sellers stick around into the end of this year. pic.twitter.com/UyhS54cf4P

Recent price action also resembles earlier cycles. Korbot Labs noted similarities to April 2024, when BTC bounced above $70,000 before correcting sharply to $57,000 in May.

Worst November since 2018 adds pressure

Bitcoin’s decline follows a rough November, where BTC ended the month down 22%, its worst November performance since 2018. That year saw a brutal 36% crash amid a DEEP crypto winter.

Still, not all analysts are bearish. Commentator Sykodelic called the correction “a great start to the month,” noting that a major CME gap closed and downside liquidity had been cleared.

For now, all eyes remain on whether Bitcoin can hold above $87,000 as markets digest the weekend shock and traders brace for another week of volatility.

Also Read: Bitcoin Moves Cautiously while Analysts Notes Positive Sentiments