Bitcoin Slides Beyond Top 10 Global Assets After Massive Liquidation Wave
Massive forced liquidations wiped out hundreds of billions in market value, pushing Bitcoin down the rankings of the world's most valuable investable assets.
The leading cryptocurrency experienced a dramatic price reversal during the current week, ejecting it from the elite group of the world's 10 most valuable assets measured by market capitalization, highlighting the challenging price volatility that has characterized recent months while markets absorb what stands as the cryptocurrency sector's most significant forced liquidation event ever recorded.
Trading in the vicinity of $83,000 per unit, Bitcoin's (BTC) total market capitalization has fallen to approximately $1.65 trillion, positioning it at 11th place on the global rankings. This puts the cryptocurrency just beneath Saudi Aramco, the government-controlled petroleum behemoth, and lower than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), based on information from market data tracking services.
In stark comparison, gold has soared to claim the number one position by a considerable margin after completing a history-making rally, solidifying its status as the planet's most valuable asset. These price increases have been matched by extraordinary expansion in gold futures trading volume, a development spotlighted in recent analytics published by cryptocurrency exchange MEXC.
The market capitalization of Bitcoin reached its zenith at close to $2.5 trillion during October, at a time when trading prices momentarily exceeded $126,000. The most recent downturn was triggered by roughly $1.6 billion worth of long position liquidations, with prices plummeting swiftly to levels beneath $82,000 after trading near the $90,000 threshold.
This price movement has sparked renewed worries that the flagship cryptocurrency could be entering the initial phases of an extended bear market cycle.
Macro backdrop tests Bitcoin's resilience
The severe price correction experienced by Bitcoin introduced an additional dimension of uncertainty into digital asset trading environments, developing against a background of speculation suggesting that US President Donald Trump was contemplating the appointment of cryptocurrency-supportive Kevin Warsh as a replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The President subsequently announced Warsh's nomination officially, transforming what had previously been circulating as market rumors into concrete reality. Warsh must secure Senate confirmation prior to taking on the responsibilities of Fed leadership when Powell's term concludes in May.
Despite these developments, Bitcoin has substantially trailed other asset classes in performance, falling behind both risk-oriented markets including equities and conventional safe-haven instruments such as gold, notwithstanding circumstances that could otherwise prove favorable, including a dramatically weakening US dollar.
A fresh examination conducted by market maker Wintermute contended that 2025 might represent a definitive departure from Bitcoin's conventional four-year pricing cycle, potentially upending one of the cryptocurrency market's most persistent narratives. Nevertheless, the organization indicated that prospects for a comprehensive recovery during 2026 remain heavily contingent on various factors.
Based on their assessment, a durable, market-wide resurgence would probably depend on multiple elements, encompassing broadened mandates from exchange-traded funds and digital-asset treasury companies, along with a resumption of consistent inflows directed toward Bitcoin and Ether (ETH).
According to Wintermute's analysis, such inflows, as opposed to short-term price fluctuations in isolation, would be essential to create a wealth effect capable of propagating throughout the wider cryptocurrency marketplace.