Bitcoin crashes below $100,000! High leverage triggers a $610 million liquidation storm.

On November 14, Bitcoin crashed to around $99,400, causing the entire Crypto Assets market capitalization to evaporate by approximately $65 billion. According to Coinglass data, this big dump led to $610 million in leveraged positions being liquidated. The truth behind the Bitcoin crash is that the dollar strengthened after a five-day pullback, the probability of a December rate cut by The Federal Reserve (FED) plummeted to 52%, and the excessively high leverage accumulation in the derivation market triggered a chain liquidation.

Bitcoin crash triggers $610 million liquidation cascade

According to Coinglass data, the recent Bitcoin crash led to more than $610 million in leveraged positions being liquidated. The sell-off was most intense during U.S. stock trading hours, erasing overnight gains and pushing Bitcoin below its intraday support level, while dragging down the prices of other major Crypto Assets. This scale of liquidation is second only to the large-scale Close Position event in October 2025, indicating that market leverage usage remains high.

The derivatives market has intensified the fall. The cascading liquidations have followed the pattern formed since the large-scale Close Position event in October: lack of liquidity leads to rapid price fluctuations, and once the concentrated stop-loss orders are triggered, it results in huge price tails. After weeks of choppy trading and gradual rebuilding of leverage, the positions on November 11 made the market vulnerable to sell-off impacts when selling pressure emerged.

The chain reaction mechanism of this Bitcoin crash is as follows: First, the price of Bitcoin falls below the key psychological barrier of $100,000, triggering a large number of stop-loss orders set at this whole number. Second, the concentrated execution of stop-loss orders causes increased selling pressure, further lowering the price. Third, the price drop leads to insufficient margin rates for leveraged positions, and the exchange automatically executes liquidation. Fourth, the sell orders generated by liquidation further lower the price, creating a vicious cycle. The entire process is completed within a few hours, demonstrating the vulnerability of the crypto market under a high-leverage environment.

From the distribution of liquidation data, long positions accounted for the vast majority of the total liquidation amount. This shows that before the Bitcoin crash, market sentiment was overly optimistic, with a large number of traders using leverage to go long. When the price reversed, these overly optimistic longs became the victims. Notably, the amount of liquidation for short positions was relatively small, indicating that traders shorting Bitcoin around the $100,000 barrier were more cautious.

The strength of the US dollar and the reversal of interest rate cut expectations exert pressure

The US dollar strengthened before the announcement of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on November 13, after a five-day pullback. This trend usually puts pressure on non-yielding assets like Bitcoin. In recent trading days, the likelihood of the Federal Reserve (FED) lowering interest rates in December has decreased, eliminating the bullish factors that supported risk assets in October. As of the time of publication, Polymarket predicts a 52% chance of the FED lowering interest rates by 25 basis points, down from 90% in late October.

The reversal of interest rate cut expectations is the macro background of this Bitcoin crash. When the market expects The Federal Reserve (FED) to cut interest rates, it means lower borrowing costs and increased liquidity, which is good news for risk assets like Bitcoin. However, when the expectation of interest rate cuts weakens, the anticipation of rising funding costs will lead investors to reassess the attractiveness of risk assets. As a zero-yield asset, Bitcoin's appeal declines relative to bonds and other fixed income products in a rising interest rate environment.

Currently, the macroeconomic situation is putting pressure on crypto assets positions, and traders are waiting for inflation data that may clarify the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory. The CPI data will determine whether the Federal Reserve has room to cut interest rates at the December meeting. If the CPI data shows that inflationary pressures persist, the Federal Reserve may maintain the current interest rate level or delay the rate cut schedule, which would further pressure risk assets such as Bitcoin. Conversely, if the CPI data is moderate and rate cut expectations rise, it could become a catalyst for a Bitcoin rebound.

The strengthening of the US dollar index also directly affects the price of Bitcoin. As a major global risk asset and alternative currency, Bitcoin typically exhibits a negative correlation with the US dollar. When the dollar strengthens, the price of Bitcoin, priced in dollars, usually faces downward pressure. In addition, a stronger dollar also attracts funds to flow into dollar-denominated assets, reducing the amount of capital flowing into Crypto Assets such as Bitcoin.

The capital flow of spot ETF is diversifying, exacerbating market fragmentation

According to data from Farside Investors, the spot Bitcoin ETF recorded a net inflow of $524 million on November 11. This marks a rebound in Bitcoin prices following a previous brief support. However, the Ethereum fund experienced a net outflow of about $107 million, leading to weak market sentiment for ETH and exacerbating its poor performance.

The divergence in capital flow between BTC and ETH has put pressure on altcoins and kept overall market sentiment cautious during Wednesday's trading session. This differentiation reflects institutional investors' varying preferences for different crypto assets. Bitcoin's narrative as “digital gold” has gained broader recognition at the institutional level, while Ethereum, despite its advantages as a smart contract platform, has seen its appeal wane in the current macro environment.

Performance of Major Crypto Assets During Bitcoin Crash

Ethereum: The trading price is $3,246.40, up 0.25% in the past 24 hours, but underperforms relative to Bitcoin.

Solana: fell by 1% to 153.21 USD

BNB: fell 0.6% to $952.12

Cardano: fell 1.6% to $0.5476

Dogecoin and XRP: both fell by 2%, trading at $0.1686 and $2.34 respectively.

This mixed performance reflects uneven capital flow and selective risk reduction rather than a unified capitulation. Traders are now reducing risk during bullish markets and reacting to small liquidity fluctuations rather than building directional exposure.

Insights from V-shaped Rebounds and Market Resilience

(Source: CoinMarketCap)

Despite the Bitcoin crash, the market once rebounded strongly to $103,000, but subsequently retraced. This V-shaped reversal indicates that there is strong buying power near the key support level. The market has digested the sell-off and did not break below the main technical support level, but liquidity remains insufficient, and liquidation continues to drive significant intraday volatility.

The rapid rebound after this Bitcoin crash reveals several important market characteristics. First, the $100,000 psychological barrier serves as a strong support level. A large number of long-term holders and institutional investors view this price as an important buying opportunity, quickly entering the market to absorb the chips when the price briefly falls below it. Second, the $524 million net inflow into spot ETFs indicates that institutional funds did not panic and exit; instead, they saw the drop as an opportunity to add to their positions. Third, while the cascading liquidations caused severe short-term volatility, they also cleared out excessively leveraged positions, creating conditions for a healthy upward movement afterward.

Before the CPI data clearly indicates the rate path and the Federal Reserve (FED) expectations stabilize, positions will remain defensive, and when stop-loss orders concentrate, positions can quickly reverse. This Bitcoin crash event reminds investors that in a high-leverage environment, even brief price fluctuations can trigger a chain liquidation.