Bitcoin’s $1 Trillion Meltdown
Why Gold Keeps Rising While Crypto Collapses
On November 19, Bitcoin crashed below $90,000, erasing almost 30% in a matter of weeks and triggering a trillion-dollar wipeout across the crypto market. The speed and scale of the drop show how quickly digital wealth can unravel. And as bitcoin collapses under pressure, gold continues to do the opposite, surging more than 50% this year and proving why real, tangible assets continue to draw strength when the speculative side of the market falls apart.
Bitcoin’s collapse has moved fast enough to unsettle even seasoned traders. The latest break below $90,000 — the first time it has fallen this low since the tariff-driven sell-off in April — wiped out what remained of its year-to-date gains. After being up as much as 35% earlier in 2025, bitcoin is now down 2% for the year, a reversal that has rattled the broader crypto landscape.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has fallen below $3,000 for the first time in five months and is down 8% in 2025. Across the sector, fear is climbing as liquidity drains out of digital assets and investors brace for more volatility.
Part of the panic stems from what analysts are calling a possible second phase of the sell-off. Some warn that another trillion dollars could be wiped from the crypto market if conditions worsen.
“Since its peak on October 7, the crypto market capitalization has fallen by more than $1 trillion, or 24%. If the rules of stocks apply here, then we should prepare for a further decline of approximately 20%, or around $1 trillion,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro chief market analyst, told Forbes.
That outlook grew more ominous when bitcoin broke below key technical levels. Sliding under its 50-week moving average triggered a new wave of selling and signaled, to many chart-watchers, the breakdown of a two-year bullish trend. Some now believe a drop to the 200-week moving average is the next likely stage of this decline.
Fairlead Strategies founder Katie Stockton pointed to another failure point: “Fearful sentiment is as extreme as it was at the April low,” she said, warning that two consecutive weekly closes under roughly $93,200 would represent a “concerning breakdown.”
Other pressures are adding fuel to the fire.
Bitcoin ETFs have seen $1.8 billion in outflows since November 12, showing that institutional holders are reducing exposure. Separate rumors that MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor may have trimmed holdings intensified the sell-off, even as the company did not confirm any such move.
At the same time, the world’s largest financial players are doing the opposite of crypto investors — they’re buying gold at a historic pace. Foreign central banks now hold more gold than U.S. Treasuries for the first time since 1996, a shift driven by rising U.S. debt risks and a global move toward hard assets.
Recent data from Crescat Capital strategist Tavi Costa shows that official gold buying has been relentless, with central banks accumulating 1,136 tonnes in 2022 — a record — and continuing heavy purchases through 2023 and 2024. Nearly one-fifth of all the gold ever mined is now in central bank vaults. This crossover marks a symbolic break from the dollar-dominated era and underscores how major nations are repositioning toward real, tangible value while speculative markets unwind.
Up more than 50% in 2025, gold continues to climb even as crypto and tech stocks tumble. Its steady rise reflects a flight to safety as investors look for protection from policy uncertainty, liquidity swings, and structural pressures that digital assets have not been able to withstand.
Gold’s performance stands out for a simple reason: when markets become unstable, real assets attract real capital. And in a year defined by rapid reversals, lingering inflation, and confusion at the policy level, gold has shown a level of resilience that bitcoin simply hasn’t matched.
That divergence — bitcoin cracking while gold strengthens — has become one of the clearest signals of where investor confidence is actually flowing.
Reagan Gold Group: Building Stability When Markets Crack
Reagan Gold Group helps investors move a portion of their retirement savings into physical gold and silver — assets that have shown resilience while crypto and stocks swing wildly. In a year when bitcoin has erased its gains, gold has climbed more than 50% and continues to serve as a reliable store of value.
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