Crypto markets nosedived this week as Bitcoin and Ethereum plunged, wiping out billions in investor value.
Bitcoin hit a weekly high of $91,185.7 on January 23 before crashing to $86,092.1 just two days later, closing the period down 0.30% at $89,253.2. Rough times. The largest daily drop came on January 25 when Bitcoin opened at $89,254.7 only to close at $86,642.0—a serious haircut for anyone who bought the top. Strategy purchased 2,932 BTC for about $264.1 million, averaging $90,061 per coin.
Ethereum got absolutely hammered, dropping 4% in 24 hours to $2,660 before plummeting nearly 12% to $2,396. Just brutal. The second-largest cryptocurrency traded around $2,401 after its 12% nosedive, caught in the same liquidation wave drowning the entire crypto space. The dramatic drop coincides with decreased network activity which typically signals waning investor confidence and adoption.
Technical indicators aren’t painting a pretty picture either. Strong downtrends registered across all timeframes—short, medium, and long.
Technical signals flashing red across the board as downtrends intensify from hourly to weekly charts.
MACD sits below its signal line with clear bearish momentum while RSI-14 at 46.81 signals weak market conditions. Not good.
ETF flows tell the same sad story. A massive $708.71 million single-day outflow on January 21 contributed to a three-day net exodus of $244.10 million ending January 27.
In total, investors yanked $1.5 billion from Bitcoin ETFs this week, hitting funds managed by giants like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale.
The carnage extended across the board with $1.6 billion in positions liquidated in just 24 hours, mostly longs getting absolutely wrecked.
Bitcoin dropped 4% to $78,904, bringing its weekly decline to over 11% and year-to-date losses to the same figure.
By Thursday, Bitcoin touched $81,000, crashing below November’s floor of $82,175 before a modest Friday rebound to $82,290.
Still down nearly 2% on the day. One year of gains—poof—gone, with over 25% of value erased.
Meanwhile, gold fell 11%, silver crashed 31%, and other metals tumbled too.
Unlike the S&P 500, which climbed 3% since October, Bitcoin’s down more than 30%. So much for that “digital gold” narrative.
Some analysts have characterized the current market conditions as a mild Crypto Winter with institutional interest in stablecoins remaining strong despite the downturn.
