The continued market turmoil reached a new low on November 14th, with Bitcoin (BTC) falling beneath the $95,000 threshold, marking its lowest price point in six months and sparking intense debate over whether the market had officially entered a bear cycle.
The role of “whale” selling
Bitcoin traded as low as $94,519, extending its drop to over 24% from its record peak just five weeks prior. The sell-off was accompanied by over $1.24 billion in leveraged long positions being liquidated across exchanges, adding to the downward pressure.
Many crypto analytics revealed that the primary driver of this renewed weakness was increased selling pressure from “whales” (wallets holding 1,000 BTC or more) and other long-term holders. Analysts suggested that for many early adopters, the area around the recently breached $100,000 psychological threshold was viewed as a natural profit-taking level.
Institutional counter-narrative
Despite the broad market decline and significant outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs (logging a fifth consecutive week of net outflows), the narrative of key institutional players remained defiant.
Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy (MSTR), publicly debunked market rumors that his firm had sold BTC, stating, “We are buying,” and confirming that the company was accelerating its Bitcoin accumulation strategy, as Morningstar reported.
This divergence created a stark narrative on November 14th: while short-term investors and highly leveraged traders were capitulating and triggering massive losses, core institutional buyers were actively using the dip to acquire more Bitcoin, reinforcing the deep conviction of long-term holders against short-term macro fears.