Bitcoin faced another turbulent weekend as a sudden Sunday downturn erased billions from the crypto market and renewed questions about its short-term resilience.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency slid below $86,500, marking a drop of nearly 5% in just a few hours, and igniting a wave of liquidations that rippled across the broader digital asset ecosystem.
A Fast and Violent Move Down
For most of the weekend, Bitcoin hovered calmly around the $91,000 level, appearing to consolidate after a challenging November. But just after 7 p.m. on Sunday, selling pressure intensified sharply. Within three hours, BTC fell to roughly $87,000, touching prices last seen during mid-November’s downturn.
Market data shows that more than 180,000 traders were caught off-guard, with total liquidations surpassing $539 million, nearly 90% of which were long positions. Analysts pointed to a familiar pattern: leveraged positions unwinding into thin weekend liquidity.
Several market commentators noted that the decline didn’t appear to be driven by a single headline. Instead, it resembled the “weekend whipsaws” that have repeatedly hit crypto markets throughout the year.
Macro Pressures Add to the Pain
While the plunge lacked an immediate catalyst, broader macro factors added weight to the downward move. Rising volatility ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s December meeting has kept investors cautious, even as the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut has climbed above 85% according to futures data.
Despite that optimism, analysts say the market had already priced in much of the potential rate reduction months ago. Sticky inflation, concerns around tariffs, and persistent outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw $3.5 billion leave in November alone, have contributed to a more defensive tone among institutional investors.
“Bitcoin is acting like a high-beta macro asset,” said one market strategist. “It needs a decisive liquidity boost, not just expectations of one.”
DeFi Turbulence Adds to Market Stress
Adding to the weekend’s uncertainty, DeFi protocol Yearn Finance reported an exploit in which attackers drained its yETH pool and moved funds through Tornado Cash. The incident followed another hack earlier in the week involving the Korean exchange Upbit, further dampening sentiment during an already fragile period for the market.
Some analysts warned that Yearn’s role as a major allocator across platforms like Aave, Compound, and Curve may have heightened concerns about forced withdrawals or contagion risk within DeFi.
Bitcoin’s Worst November Since 2018
The weekend drop capped what has been Bitcoin’s weakest month of the year. November closed with a 17.5% decline, the sharpest November pullback since 2018. While painful, some traders viewed the recent sweep of downside liquidity as a potentially constructive reset.
“There was no Sunday pump, the CME gap is already closed, and hundreds of millions in longs have been flushed,” one analyst noted. “It’s the kind of reset you want to see before upside attempts.”
Key Levels to Watch
Market observers are watching the $87,000 level closely, a price point that has acted as a key line of defense in recent weeks. A clean break below it could open the door to $80,400, with deeper liquidity pockets sitting near $75,000.
On the flip side, a supportive signal from the Federal Reserve could help Bitcoin reclaim the $95,000–$100,000 range, analysts say. Historically, BTC has rallied 10–15% in the week following a rate cut.
There may be another catalyst on the horizon: President Donald Trump revealed over the weekend that he has already chosen the next Federal Reserve Chair, renewing speculation around the direction of monetary policy heading into 2026.
Outlook: Volatility Isn’t Going Anywhere
Despite the sharp decline, several market experts maintain that Bitcoin’s broader structure hasn’t meaningfully deteriorated. They characterize the current downturn as part of a larger deleveraging cycle rather than the start of a fundamental breakdown.
Still, with macro uncertainty elevated and crypto-specific risks resurfacing, traders should expect volatility to remain a defining feature of the market in the weeks ahead.
