Bitcoin remains under macro pressure after enduring worst monthly drop since June 2022

Bitcoin is still stuck. The OG crypto token is down 28% from its October all-time high of $126,000, now sitting around $91,000.

This is now its worst monthly drop since June 2022. The sell-off hasn’t let up, and everything from ETF exits to miner losses is piling on.

There’s no single reason why it’s falling. It’s a mix of institutional selling, cash draining out, and old holders calling it quits. And now, as traders get ready for the December 9 FOMC meeting, there’s little reason to expect a turnaround. Here’s where it all starts falling apart.

ETFs dump Bitcoin, stablecoin capital dries up

Over $3.5 billion has been pulled from Bitcoin ETFs just in November, the biggest monthly outflow since February, according to 10X Research. “That indicates that institutional investors have stopped allocating into bitcoin,” said Markus Thielen, founder of the firm. “These ETFs have turned into sellers, and as long as they keep selling, I think the markets will struggle to stay up, or rebound.”

On top of that, fewer stablecoins are being minted. That’s usually a sign that new capital isn’t entering the market. Last week alone, around $800 million left crypto entirely and moved back into fiat, based on 10X’s data.

Meanwhile, stablecoin market cap dropped $4.6 billion through November 1, according to DeFiLlama. “Money is not just failing to come in, it’s actually leaving the crypto market,” said Thielen. “That’s why bitcoin dominance is failing to pick up.”

Earlier this week, Bitcoin briefly bounced after the Federal Reserve hinted at a possible rate cut in December. But Thielen doesn’t buy the rally. He expects that to fade before or during the December 9 Fed meeting, calling it just a “short-term, oversold reaction.”

He says even if the Fed cuts rates, it’ll be a hawkish cut, not the kind of policy shift that kicks off a major bull run.

Back on October 10, Bitcoin got hit hard during a leveraged liquidation event. That single day wiped out $19 billion in market value. The damage from that day is still being felt, with no clear sign of recovery since.

Long-term holders cash out, miners and altcoins collapse

Old-school Bitcoin holders are also selling. Some are reacting to the cycle. Others just want to spend their money. “There has been OG people selling every single cycle,” said Nicolai Søndergaard, research analyst at Nansen. “I think they just reach that point where they decide, okay, maybe I’ve gotten old enough, and I want to use this money now for something else.”

This round of selling has smashed the rest of the digital asset market. Total crypto market cap is now at $2.99 trillion, down more than 30% from $4.28 trillion on October 6. It’s not just Bitcoin. Ethereum has dropped 38% since early October. Solana? Down over 40%.

Søndergaard says if there’s any hope of a rebound, it’s going to come from either ETF demand returning or more companies stepping in to buy. But that’s not happening yet. Look at Strategy (MSTR), they didn’t announce a token purchase on Monday, even though they’d been doing that for six weeks in a row before now. Their model of loading Bitcoin onto balance sheets had sparked imitators. Now that wave’s dried up.

Strategy’s still in profit. But other digital asset treasuries (DATs)? Most are now underwater on their positions. No one’s buying. Everyone’s waiting.

Mind you, miners have tanked too. Names like IREN, Riot, and Mara Holdings have all dropped over 30%. Doesn’t matter that they’ve been shifting toward AI services, the market’s not giving them a break either.

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