The price of Bitcoin dropped below $81,000 on November 21, 2025. At the beginning of the month, the price of the first cryptocurrency was around $110,000, but the market experienced a significant crash. Analysts attribute this to several key factors, including a decrease in global liquidity, heightened macroeconomic risks, mining losses, and active asset sales by Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies.
This is reported by Finway
Macroeconomic Risks and the Impact of Liquidity
The CEO of the analytical platform CryptoQuant, Ki Young Ju, emphasized that the current market situation has turned out to be worse than expected. He noted that macro liquidity is now crucial for the market, as dollar liquidity is shrinking and risk assets are being actively sold. Forecasts suggest that this trend may continue until next year, until liquidity begins to gradually recover.
“Macro liquidity is currently more important than the on-chain cycle: dollar liquidity is shrinking, risk assets are being sold, and this trend is likely to continue until next year, until liquidity starts to ease,” Ki Young Ju emphasized.
Additionally, the analyst refers to the opinions of experts, including Luke Gromen, who points to the significant fiscal deficit in the U.S. and the decrease in foreign demand for U.S. Treasury bonds. According to him, without a new wave of liquidity, the Treasury bond market remains unstable; however, when liquidity returns, assets with a scarcity nature, such as gold and Bitcoin, may begin to rise in price again.
Mining Losses and Sales by DAT Companies
Financial analyst Jacob King highlights that Bitcoin mining is currently in the most unprofitable state it has been in the last decade. The cost of mining 1 BTC exceeds $112,000, which is significantly higher than the current market price. This could trigger a mass shutdown of mining equipment, a drop in hash rate, and further pressure on the price of the cryptocurrency.
PlaceholderVC partner Chris Burniske links the market decline to the activity of Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) companies, which hold large volumes of cryptocurrency. According to him, DAT companies have begun selling off their assets, and this process is just gaining momentum. In particular, according to Lookonchain, the company Strategy holds about 650,000 BTC, purchased at an average of $74,433 per coin, giving it a profit of about 12%. Bitmine has over 3.5 million ETH with an unrealized loss of $4.5 billion, while Forward Industries holds 6.8 million SOL with losses exceeding $700 million.
Analysts at Glassnode noted that the number of Bitcoins in realized loss has reached levels last seen during the FTX exchange crash in November 2022. They cite panic selling by short-term holders as the main reason for this.
Additional pressure on the market is exerted by the potential exclusion of the company Strategy from major stock indices, such as MSCI USA and Nasdaq 100. Analysts at JP Morgan warn that if MSCI decides to exclude it, up to $2.8 billion could exit the market, while passive funds already control about $9 billion in market value. The final decision is expected to be made by January 15, 2026. In such a scenario, a mass sell-off of MSTR shares could further impact the price of Bitcoin.
In conclusion, experts identify the main reasons for the drop in Bitcoin’s price as follows:
- reduction in global liquidity and tight monetary policy;
- mining losses;
- mass asset sales by DAT companies;
- panic selling by short-term holders;
- potential exclusion of Strategy from key stock indices.
Previously, the CEO of CryptoQuant stated that the bullish cycle of Bitcoin ended at the $100,000 level.