Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin's $96K Breakdown Ignites Fears of 2024-Style Bear Market Reckoning

Bitcoin Plunges Below $96K Support, Erasing 2025 Gains Amid Extreme Bearish Sentiment

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $96,000 on Friday, breaking critical support levels and wiping out its gains for 2025 as institutional and retail demand for the cryptocurrency waned. The price decline accelerated after the asset's failure to hold above $100,000, a threshold that had acted as a psychological and technical floor since June. The move triggered a cascade of liquidations, with over $44 million in single-position losses reported on HTX, and deepened a bearish sentiment already underscored by a record outflow of $870 million from U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday.

The sell-off extended across the broader market, with Ethereum (ETH) and XRP trading below $3,200 and $2.30, respectively. Total crypto market capitalization shrank by 5.4% to $3.36 trillion in 24 hours, reflecting a flight to safety amid global macroeconomic uncertainty. Institutional investors, a key driver of Bitcoin's rally earlier this year, have now seen cumulative outflows of $59.34 billion from spot ETFs, with Grayscale's GBTC alone shedding $318 million in a single day. Meanwhile, retail demand for XRP remains subdued, with futures open interest stagnating near $3.78 billion despite a slight rebound from November lows according to market data.

On-chain metrics reinforce the bearish narrative. CryptoQuant's Bull Score Index, a gauge of market optimism, plummeted from 80 in October to 20 by mid-November, signaling a severe shift in investor sentiment. Long-term holders (LTHs) have offloaded 815,000 BTC over the past 30 days-the highest level since January 2024-exacerbating downward pressure as spot demand weakened. The 365-day moving average at $102,000 has become a critical psychological barrier; repeated failures to reclaim this level could accelerate a deeper correction.

Technical analysis highlights a precarious outlook. Bitcoin's price has formed a "lower high–lower low" structure on daily charts, invalidating a two-year uptrend defined by its ability to defend the 50-week SMA since September 2023. Short-term holders are now facing near-capitulation losses of 12.79%, and key support levels at $93,500 and $85,000 loom as potential next targets. If BTC breaks below $93,600, analysts warn of a test of the 2024 bear market lows.

Despite the downturn, some institutional players remain bullish. MicroStrategy added 8,178 BTC-worth $835.6 million-last week, bringing its total holdings to 649,870 tokens valued at $61 billion. However, skeptics like Jim Chanos and Peter Schiff have criticized the company's business model, arguing that its reliance on Bitcoin's price appreciation without generating income could lead to insolvency. The stock has fallen over 31% in 2025, trading at a 1.19x multiple to net asset value.

The market's bearish momentum is further amplified by a record-low Fear and Greed Index score of 16, nearing early March levels, and a near-total absence of retail buying activity. While some analysts, like Wintermute, argue that Bitcoin's underperformance relative to the Nasdaq-up 21.86% in 2025 versus BTC's 2.96%-signals a maturing bottom, others caution that the asset's high-beta profile makes it vulnerable to further corrections until macroeconomic risks abate.