The selling wave that has accelerated in the cryptocurrency market in recent weeks has brought to the fore the question, “Has the bear market started?”
Bitcoin’s drop below $90,000 isn’t a structural trend reversal, but rather a liquidity-driven correction, according to Jason Huang, founder of analytics firm NextGen Digital Venture (NDV). Huang attributes the 30% pullback to excessive leverage liquidations, macro uncertainty, Trump’s tariff announcements, and slowing spot ETF flows.
According to data from Tiger Brokers, Bitcoin briefly dipped below the $90,000 threshold, erasing all of its gains from 2025, bringing its year-to-date return to around -2%. Having peaked at $126,000 in early October, BTC experienced its largest liquidation day in history on October 10th, liquidating approximately $20 billion in leveraged positions. Although it recovered above $110,000 after the drop, it has lost around 30% of its value in the past six weeks.
Huang argues that the decline doesn’t carry dramatic significance in the long-term picture:
Huang highlights BTC’s decreasing supply every four years. He points out that while 10 million new BTC were produced in the 2008-2012 cycle, only approximately 600,000 will be produced this cycle, and argues that selling pressure has structurally diminished. He also notes that the potential sale prospects for the 60,000 BTC seized by the UK are also adding pressure to the market.
“If it weren’t for that tweet, I think Bitcoin would be in the $130,000–$150,000 range today.”
Technically, the price falling below the 200-day moving average and the formation of a “death cross” increase selling, while the slowdown in ETF inflows and the global liquidity contraction also create short-term pressure.
Huang notes that Bitcoin correlates up to 70% with the Nasdaq, particularly during periods of fear, and its volatility is approximately twice that of the stock market. He notes that upcoming US employment data and Nvidia’s earnings figures are critical to market direction.
Huang said that NDV’s strategy is a rotation between Bitcoin and Ethereum, a weight change between Bitcoin-related stocks and gold, and that they prefer gold instead of the dollar as a hedge.
“We expect the market to find a bottom. As long as liquidity loosens, I don’t expect a significant pullback. Bitcoin is limited, non-replicable, and has technological growth potential. Therefore, its long-term trend remains intact.”
Huang, noting that market positioning is heavily short-heavy, says a rebound to $98,000-$99,000 is plausible during a natural deleveraging process. In the longer term, he argues that new highs above $100,000 and even multi-million dollar targets are possible.
*This is not investment advice.