Bitcoin, Ether Post Worst Week Since FTX Collapse as Crypto Sheds $390B
In brief
- Bitcoin fell 17.3% and Ether dropped 22%, marking their worst performance since the FTX collapse in November 2022.
- Crypto market capitalization fell to just above $2 trillion, down from nearly $4.2 trillion peak in October.
- Roughly $7 billion in leveraged positions liquidated, with $5.7 billion in long (bullish) bets.
- Bitcoin ETFs bled assets as capital rotated toward artificial intelligence investments.
- Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report shifted Fed policy expectations, triggering broader selloffs across equities and crypto.
Liquidations and ETF Outflows
Roughly $7 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated across digital assets during the week. About $5.7 billion of those were long positions—bullish bets on higher prices. At the same time, bitcoin ETFs continued to bleed assets. K33 Research head Vetle Lunde argued that some of those outflows reflected a broader rotation of capital away from crypto and into artificial intelligence investments. The opportunity cost of holding BTC has become increasingly difficult for some investors to ignore.
Corporate Selling and Macro Headwinds
The week began with Strategy disclosing it sold bitcoin for the first time in nearly four years, selling 32 BTC worth roughly $2.5 million. Strategy is the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. The final blow came with Friday's stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report, forcing investors to rethink Federal Reserve policy. Markets that earlier this year anticipated rate cuts are now increasingly expecting the central bank could hike if inflation remains stubbornly high. The Nasdaq 100 suffered its worst day since the tariff-driven selloff in April 2025, dragging crypto lower in tandem.
Privacy Concerns Add Pressure
Zcash tumbled more than 40% after researchers used Anthropic's latest AI model to uncover a critical vulnerability in the network's privacy system. The discovery highlighted broader risks in privacy-focused protocols and added to the week's selling pressure across altcoins.
