Bitcoin Falls Below $94,000 for First Time Since May Amid ‘Extreme Fear’ Sentiment
Analysts highlighted retail distress, rare social-dominance surges and warnings of a possible deeper pullback as several major tokens remained under pressure.
Updated Nov 17, 2025, 1:08 p.m. Published Nov 16, 2025, 6:49 p.m.
Bitcoin slipped to its lowest level since May on Sunday before paring some losses, as sentiment across the crypto market stayed locked in extreme fear. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 10, in its extreme fear band, after already sitting at the same level on Saturday.
Bitcoin BTC$95,210.05 was trading around $95,087 at 6:20 p.m. UTC, down 1% over the past 24 hours after briefly dipping below $94,000 earlier in the day, its lowest point since May 6 based on TradingView data.
Across the majors, ether ETH$3,204.60 declined 3.23% to $3,113, XRP fell 2.1% to $2.21, BNB slipped 1.6% to $926.21 and solana SOL$141.61 dropped 3.6% to $137.79.
Bulls vs bears debate
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said on X that bitcoin had broken out of a channel, arguing that the move could open the door to a potential slide toward $83,500.
Analyst Benjamin Cowen noted bitcoin registered a death cross, adding that prior examples often marked local lows. He said bitcoin would need to bounce within the next week for the cycle to stay intact and warned that a failure to do so could lead to another drop before any larger rally back to the 200-day moving average. Cowen urged traders to “trade the market you have, not the market you want.”
Meanwhile, market strategist Charlie Bilello pointed out that gold is up 55% this year, calling it 2025’s best-performing major asset, while calling bitcoin — up roughly 1% — the worst-performing major asset. He described the divergence as the inverse of 2013 and noted such a dynamic has not appeared in any prior calendar year.
Adding to the fuel for the bears, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that President Donald Trump’s Nov. 10 proposal to send $2,000 tariff-funded “dividend” payments to U.S. citizens would require congressional approval. Previously, Trump’s dividend payment plan lifted the markets, suggesting traders were potentially pricing in the potential for higher consumer spending and crypto market inflows if and when these funds reach recipients.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom, as extreme fear might be a sign of a potential market bottom.
Market intelligence platform Santiment said bitcoin discussion rates spiked to a four-month high during Friday’s slip below $95,000, pointing to elevated retail fear. The firm stated that such surges in social dominance can increase the likelihood of market reversals, although it emphasized that the pattern is not a guarantee.
Read more: Bitcoin Approaches ‘Death Cross’ as Market Tests Major Historical Pattern
Additionally, Strategy (MSTR) Executive Chairman Michael Saylor signaled the company will announce its latest bitcoin acquisition on Monday, posting the phrase “Big Week” on X, while attaching a screenshot from StategyTracker, the leading real-time bitcoin treasury analytics platform. This could potentially add some positive sentiment.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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