Bitcoin Near $91K as Market Fear Surges and $1B in Liquidations Hit Traders
Bitcoin (BTC $84,390.27) hovered around $91,400 on Tuesday as extreme fear gripped the market, volatility spiked, and leveraged traders absorbed over $1 billion in liquidations. Ether (ETH $2,745.25) traded near $3,060, while most altcoins continued their decline.
The Fear & Greed Index fell to 15/100, the lowest since April—just before Bitcoin defied bearish expectations by climbing from $76,000 to over $100,000 within a month. While such sentiment suggests a potential rebound, Bitcoin may first test the $87,500 support level to flush out remaining leveraged positions.
Monday’s trading highlighted the risks of emotional decisions, with one trader losing $5.5 million after shorting near the bottom with 30x leverage. As Warren Buffett famously said, “Buy when there is blood in the streets, even if it’s your own.”
Derivatives and Volatility
Over $1 billion in crypto futures were liquidated in the past 24 hours, mostly long positions. BTC’s 30-day implied volatility (Volmex BVIV) briefly reached 55% annualized—the highest since the Oct. 10 crash. BTC futures open interest hit a six-week high of 730,550 BTC, confirming a downtrend alongside falling spot prices. ETH futures OI remains near 12.5 million. Perpetual funding rates are mildly positive for most tokens, excluding TRX. Options activity shows a put bias, including BTC $90,000 strike puts expiring Nov. 28 and ETH $4,000 call rollovers.
Altcoins and Market Trends
Privacy coins led losses: Zcash (ZEC $516.84) dropped 14% and Dash (DASH $56.45) fell 9%, exceeding ETH and XRP declines. ASTER and HYPE bucked the trend, rising 8.5% and 5%, respectively. The CoinDesk 10 index, excluding Bitcoin, fell 3.8% in 24 hours, adding to a 19.7% monthly decline.
Altcoin charts show lower highs and lower lows, reflecting ongoing downtrends. However, previous bull markets have endured 30% corrections, suggesting the crypto market has not yet entered a full “crypto winter.”
