The cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp downturn during the early hours of Monday in Asia, with Bitcoin (BTC), the largest and most established cryptocurrency, facing a sudden collapse. The digital currency plummeted over $5,200, marking a decline of nearly 7% within a mere two-hour period. This rapid sell-off led to the liquidation of approximately $400 million in leveraged long positions over the preceding hour.
Experts attributed this sudden downturn to what they termed a “Sunday slam,” noting that significant cryptocurrency shifts frequently occur on Friday and Sunday nights. Notably, this latest drop transpired without an identifiable news catalyst. The Kobeissi Letter highlighted that November has been particularly challenging for Bitcoin, citing an 18% decline that made it the worst month of the year and the most disappointing November since 2018.
The rapid decline saw Bitcoin hovering around an intra-day low of $85,945, reflecting a decrease of 6.55% from its peak of $91,965.04 earlier that day. Furthermore, this is a substantial fall of 32% from Bitcoin’s all-time high of $126,198.07 reached on October 7, 2025. Trading volumes surged by an impressive 46% to $55 billion over the last 24 hours, though Bitcoin’s market capitalization decreased to $1.7 trillion as traders reacted to the volatility.
Analysts emphasized that the decline was less about a fundamental change in demand and more indicative of the precarious market sentiment that has emerged following Bitcoin’s poor November performance. Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus, noted that the dip was primarily due to a wave of leveraged unwinds during the low liquidity typically seen on weekends. He stressed that the token’s current trajectory is marked by a deleveraging phase, characterized by stretched funding rates, cautious institutional inflows, and retail traders still seeking rebounds.
Meanwhile, the impending comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell were causing a sense of caution among traders. Akshat Siddhant, Lead Quant Analyst at Mudrex, highlighted that a potential shift in institutional demand could be on the horizon; Bitcoin ETFs recently experienced their first week of net inflows since October. He indicated that if market sentiment stabilizes, Bitcoin could aim for its next upward movement, emphasizing key support at $85,000 and immediate resistance at $92,400.
The fallout from Bitcoin’s instability was not limited to it alone; other major cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple, BNB, Solana, and Dogecoin faced declines ranging from 5% to 8%. Zcash bore the brunt of this market shake-up, plummeting 22% within the same timeframe. Additional tokens like Dash, Kucoin, Injective, and Aave also recorded significant losses, ranging between 12% and 15%.
Overall, the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency sector dipped by more than 5% to approximately $2.93 trillion. Despite Bitcoin’s dominance in the market remaining steady at approximately 58.6%, the Fear and Greed index indicated markedly fearful sentiments among investors, registering at a level of 20.
The coming days are expected to be pivotal, with crucial readings on the strength of the U.S. economy set to emerge, providing insights for policymakers as they deliberate on interest rates throughout 2026. Adding to the market’s focus, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a nominee for the next Federal Reserve chair had been chosen, increasing scrutiny on future monetary policy directions.
