World’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, plunged below $90,000 on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, for the first time in seven months.
This development signals a sharp retreat in investor appetite for risk assets across global markets.
Bitcoin, which surged to an all-time high above $126,000 in October, has now wiped out all gains recorded in 2025 and is down almost 30 per cent from that peak.
A Reuters report showed that Bitcoin traded around $89,953 in the early afternoon session in Asia, extending last week’s dramatic fall after it broke key chart support at the $98,000 level.
Traders said the sell-off was fuelled by a combination of factors, including renewed doubts over the timing of U.S. interest rate cuts and a broader pullback in global markets following months of aggressive rallies.
Analysts told Reuters that as long as investors remain uncertain about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next move, risk-sensitive assets like cryptocurrencies will stay under pressure.
“The mood has soured,” one market participant said, adding that crypto’s sharp downturn reflects a wider reluctance among investors to take fresh speculative positions.
The bearish turn has also rattled crypto-exposed companies.
Firms that hold or accumulate digital tokens, such as Strategy, as well as miners like Riot Platforms and Mara Holdings, have seen their share prices fall sharply. Major exchange Coinbase has likewise suffered declines in line with the weakening sentiment.
Asian equities were broadly lower on Tuesday, with heavy losses in technology shares in Japan and South Korea, mirroring the retreat in digital assets.
The rout has not spared other cryptocurrencies. Ether, the second-largest digital asset by market value, has endured months of selling pressure and is now down almost 40 per cent from its August high above $4,955. It slipped another 1 per cent on Tuesday to trade around $2,997.
Market Fears Crypto Slump Could Ripple Into Equities
