Bitcoin Edges Up After Erasing All Gains for 2025 Amid Market Uncertainty
By Reuters — Published on November 18, 2025
Bitcoin showed a modest rebound on Tuesday in European trading hours after suffering a significant decline that wiped out all of its gains for the year. The cryptocurrency had dropped below the $90,000 mark for the first time in seven months, signaling a growing risk-averse sentiment among investors across the financial markets.
Following a steep selloff on Monday, Bitcoin’s price slipped as low as $89,286.75 before recovering slightly to $91,338.47, down about 0.5 percent during Tuesday’s trading. This decline puts Bitcoin nearly 30 percent below its peak of $126,000 reached in October.
The recent dip reflects a broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market, which has seen approximately $1.2 trillion wiped off its total value in the past six weeks, according to data from market tracker CoinGecko. Other major digital assets such as Ethereum have also suffered; Ethereum has lost nearly 40 percent since hitting a high above $4,955 in August.
Market analysts attribute the selloff to growing doubts over the Federal Reserve’s future interest rate policies, which were initially expected to include cuts supportive of riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. Instead, skepticism around possible rate cuts has fueled a cautious mood in financial markets after a prolonged rally.
“The cascading selloff is amplified by listed companies and institutions exiting their positions after piling in during the rally, compounding contagion risks across the market,” noted Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association. Chu highlighted how thinning support levels combined with macroeconomic uncertainty can quickly erode investor confidence.
Investor withdrawals have been evident in steady outflows from cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and similar investment vehicles. Joseph Edwards from Enigma Securities remarked, “The sell pressure here isn’t extraordinary, but it’s coming at a relative weak point on the buy side … a lot of retail buyers were stung during the flash crash last month.” The October flash crash resulted in around $19 billion in liquidations across leveraged crypto positions, leaving cautious investors hesitant.
Public companies engaged in cryptocurrency holdings have seen their stock values decline in tandem with the market’s souring sentiment. Firms including Strategy, crypto miners like Riot Platforms and Mara Holdings, and the Coinbase exchange have all experienced losses.
A rising trend in 2025 has involved companies outside the crypto sector buying and holding cryptocurrencies as a treasury asset. However, analysts at Standard Chartered warn that a sustained Bitcoin price below $90,000 could leave about half of these corporate Bitcoin holdings “underwater,” meaning their current value is below the acquisition cost. Presently, companies listed on public markets collectively own around 4 percent of the total Bitcoin circulating supply and 3.1 percent of Ethereum.
Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at Astronaut Capital, summarized the market mood: “All in all, sentiment is pretty low in crypto and has been since the leverage wipeout of October.”
As uncertainty persists around monetary policy and risk appetite, the crypto market faces ongoing challenges in regaining momentum after a volatile year.
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