Bitcoin briefly fell below $87,000 over the weekend, wiping out a week’s worth of gains in a single session and setting the tone for a volatile start to December.
The sudden drop, which erased almost 5% in just three hours, caught traders off guard and triggered heavy liquidations across the crypto market.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near $86,251, down 5.16% in the past 24 hours, with a market cap of $1.72 trillion. The downturn followed a weekend where BTC failed to break a key resistance level around $91,500.
A sharp weekend sell-off 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.
Within an hour, $400 million in positions was 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 maintain its level of 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 from the present levels.
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
