Santiment: Retail Outlook Has Become “Ultra Bearish” As Bitcoin Trends Towards $110k

Bitcoin recently dropped to $113K, and has sparked “ultra bearish” sentiment among retail traders. Is a comeback inbound?

Bitcoin has once again become the focus of heated internet debates, especially after it fell $113,000. 

The dip marked a 17-day low and has been a source of panic among retail traders who quickly changed gears from bullish to ultra bearish. According to analysts, however, this type of sentiment is usually an opportunity for long-term investors.

Retail Traders Panic as Bitcoin Falls Below $113K

According to Santiment in a recent X update, social media sentiment around Bitcoin has turned more negative than at any point since late June. 

The June slump, for context, was triggered by geopolitical fears, which also caused sharp selling across the market. According to Santiment, extreme negativity tends to come before price rebounds.

😨 Retail traders have done a complete 180 after Bitcoin has failed to rally and dipped below $113K. The past 24 hours have marked the most bearish sentiment seen on social media since the June 22nd fears of war caused a cascade of panic sells.

🩸 Historically, this negative… pic.twitter.com/UYKOpWoOkn

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) August 20, 2025

Bitcoin dropped to $112,656 on Coinbase during late trading on Tuesday, according to TradingView. The decline set the cryptocurrency near a major support level of $112,000, which is its lowest point since August 3.

The retreat stands as an 8.5% slide from last week’s all-time high of just over $124,000. Meanwhile, the total crypto market cap has slipped below $4 trillion and is marking a two-week low.

Santiment pointed out that markets tend to move in the opposite direction of the crowd’s expectations. When fear runs hot and retail investors start to sell, this often creates the perfect conditions for a recovery.

Will Bitcoin Repeat Its Bull Market History?

Corrections are common during bull markets. Analysts believe that Bitcoin tends to suffer from pullbacks before setting new highs. These phases are sometimes described as “bear traps,” where small crashes shake out weak hands before a rally.

#BTC

One of the most positive things about this current pullback is that this same type of retrace took place at this same moment in the cycle in both 2017 and 2021

In both 2017 and 2021, each of those retraces preceded upside to new All Time Highs$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/ONprKhpUvs

— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) August 19, 2025

Historical data provides some context for this. For example, in September 2017, Bitcoin corrected by 36% before reaching new highs three months later. A similar pattern occurred in September 2021, when Bitcoin lost 23% before rebounding to a new high.

If the ongoing cycle follows the same trend, Bitcoin could see a pullback as deep as $90,000 before resuming upward. Analysts, however, warn that while such dips may be stressful for investors, they are some of the biggest sources of strong buying opportunities for long-term investors.

ETF Outflows Add Pressure to Bitcoin and Ether

More than retail selling, institutional flows have also shown ongoing investor caution. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of $523 million on Tuesday, which is more than four times Monday’s withdrawals, according to Farside Investors.

Ether ETFs also suffered losses, with $422 million in outflows, which doubled from the previous day. 

In total, Bitcoin and Ether funds have lost $1.3 billion over three days, alongside recent price declines of 8.3% and 10.8%, respectively, as tracked by CoinMarketCap.