Crypto prices today (18 Nov): BTC breaks $90K floor, ETH, SOL, XRP bleed as liquidations top $1B

by

The crypto market sure knows how to make a dramatic entrance this Tuesday, Nov. 18, as Bitcoin, the grand daddy of them all, took a tumble down to nearly a 7-month low. Altcoins, never ones to miss out on the action, followed suit, turning red faster than a lobster on a hot grill. Oh, and if you’re wondering where all the fun went, about $1 billion in liquidations decided to take an early exit too. What a show!

  • The crypto market took a 5% dive, as the bear market continued to gnaw at everything in sight.
  • Bitcoin’s plunge below $90k, with the added spice of macroeconomic worries, made sure to keep investors on the edge of their seats.
  • Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has dropped lower than a limbo dancer’s back, now sitting at its lowest level since February.

Bitcoin (BTC), the mighty ruler of the crypto kingdom, took a nosedive from $95,903 to $89,455, a level we haven’t seen since April. By the time I’m writing this, it’s clawing its way back up to $89,812, but it’s still down a solid 5.1% in the last 24 hours, and a whopping 28.6% from its glorious high of $126,080 just six weeks ago. Ouch, that’s gotta sting.

Ethereum (ETH) wasn’t about to let Bitcoin have all the fun, and joined in with a 5.3% correction, stumbling down to around the $3k mark. And don’t even get me started on other altcoins like XRP, Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA)-they were all sporting a fine shade of red, with losses ranging between 3% and 5%. Oh, the drama!

In case you were wondering, six lucky cryptocurrencies among the top 100 were still in the green. The laggards, though? Well, Pump.fun (PUMP), Zcash (ZEC), and Mantle (MNT) took a dive of more than 9%. Talk about a party pooper.

The sea of red slashed the market cap by 4.2%, leaving us with a sad $3.18 trillion, as a cool $140 billion evaporated in a single day. Can you believe it?

Meanwhile, in the land of derivatives, traders were feeling the heat. CoinGlass data reveals that a whopping $1.01 billion has been liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $718 million coming from long liquidations alone. You can almost hear the collective sigh of regret from those who went all-in. I mean, who saw this coming, right?

These liquidations might just put a pause on the overconfident leveraged traders. I mean, after all, who could forget that heart-stopping $20 billion worth of liquidations last month? That little episode really shook up investor confidence, leading to a wave of deleveraging. It was like a game of musical chairs, but with billions of dollars on the line.

At the moment, the Fear and Greed Index is sitting at a sad 11, which, by the way, is its lowest since February. This indicates “Extreme Fear,” meaning traders are clutching their wallets, shaking in their boots. And as any seasoned crypto vet knows, this kind of fear can lead to retreating prices, while a spark of confidence could turn everything back to green. Let’s wait and see.

Crypto prices tank as BTC confirms death cross

The crypto world took another dive today as Bitcoin formed not one, but TWO ominous patterns on the technical daily chart. First, we have the double-top pattern, which, when it rears its ugly head, typically leads to long price corrections. The neckline here is around $107,276, and when it breaks, expect to see some serious selling pressure-talk about a one-way ticket to the basement.

And just to add some extra flair, Bitcoin also formed a death cross. What a name, right? This happens when the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages cross downward, and although it’s a lagging indicator, it’s never a good sign for those holding their breath for a rally. If the selling continues, we might be in for more downside risk.

Stablecoin reserves across exchanges shrink

It’s not just the cryptos that are feeling the pinch-stablecoins are taking a hit too. Data from Nansen shows that the total balance of stablecoins held across all exchanges has dropped to $85 billion, continuing its downward slide from Nov. 10 when it peaked at $89 billion. So what does that mean? Well, fewer people are buying cryptos, which could leave us in a sticky situation with limited capital for future buys. Not exactly the recipe for a quick recovery.

And if that wasn’t enough, corporate treasuries, which were gobbling up cryptocurrencies like Thanksgiving dinner earlier this year, have hit the brakes. They’re now under pressure to liquidate assets and protect their balance sheets. Even spot Bitcoin ETFs, which had raked in over $25 billion this year, have seen over $2.5 billion in net outflows since November. The crypto world is basically a high-stakes poker game right now, with everyone nervously eyeing the dealer.

What’s next?

So, what’s next in this never-ending saga of crypto chaos? Investors are, as always, sitting on their hands, watching and waiting for the next big catalyst that could set the market ablaze (or douse it in more cold water). For one, Nvidia, the world’s top chipmaker, is set to release its quarterly earnings on Wednesday. If their results are good, it could spark a little hope in the AI sector, and by extension, the crypto market. But we all know how this goes-one good report doesn’t fix everything.

Also, don’t forget about the Federal Reserve’s minutes from their Nov. 12-13 meeting, which will be released on the same day. Any hint that the Fed might be softening its stance could give risk assets, including crypto, a much-needed boost. But if the tone is hawkish, brace yourself for another round of crypto purgatory. The market is about as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs right now.

Read More

2025-11-18 11:33