Dogecoin Goes Wall Street: Grayscale Confirms Nov. 24 ETF Launch

BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, said that most of the world’s largest asset managers’ clients aren’t considering Bitcoin’s use for daily payments when deciding whether to invest in the asset.

“I think for us, and most of our clients today, they’re not really underwriting to that global payment network case,” Mitchnick said during a podcast interview published to YouTube on Friday.

“That’s sort of maybe out-of-the-money-option-value upside,” Mitchnick said.

He said this doesn’t mean Bitcoin (BTC) won’t eventually achieve widespread use in payments, but he called that scenario “a little bit more speculative,” stressing that investors are far more focused on the “digital gold” or store-of-value thesis.

“A lot needs to happen” for that to change, says Mitchnick

“There’s a lot that needs to happen in terms of Bitcoin scaling, Lightning, and otherwise to make that possible,” he said. In August 2024, Galaxy Research suggested that most Bitcoin layer-2 scaling networks, particularly “rollups” may not be sustainable in the long term despite their popularity as a promising method to keep Bitcoin payments cheap, fast and decentralized. 

Meanwhile, Mitchnick said that stablecoins have been “hugely successful” in the payments sector. “They do have massive product market fit as a payment instrument as a way of moving value around efficiently,” he said. 

The Bitcoin market continues to witness an intense price correction in line with broader crypto market movement. In the past week, the premier cryptocurrency recorded another 10% price decline, trading as low as $80,800, before experiencing a modest bounce. 

Bitcoin now stands 32.79% below its all-time high, with distribution taking preference over accumulation for most investors. However, popular analyst Gert Van Lagen has unveiled an on-chain trend that postulates an impending revival of the bull market.

Bitcoin Historical Post-Halving Movement Indicates Bullish Hope 

In an X post on November 21, Gert Van Lagen outlines a positive Bitcoin price prediction based on data from the previous post-halving movement. The renowned analyst explains this forecast, using a long-term logarithmic chart of Bitcoin’s price vs Bitcoin block height, which highlights a regression channel the digital asset has followed since 2009.

According to Van Lagen, Bitcoin has followed a similar pattern after every halving, which usually begins with pushing above the midline of this long-term regression channel. Thereafter, the premier cryptocurrency accelerates into a blow-off top (orange spikes) at the channel’s upper boundary as seen in 2013, 2017, and 2021.

For all its price exploits in the present market cycle, Bitcoin presently trades just below the midline of the regression channel, suggesting there is ample space for price appreciation. However, Van Lagen notes some unusual price behavior in that Bitcoin has experienced rejection thrice at this midline, each time resulting in a bounce off the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement line. 

Nevertheless, the analyst still expects the premier cryptocurrency to maintain the 15-year historical trend and eventually secure a decisive move above the midline resistance. If this price development occurs, Van Lagen also predicts Bitcoin to rise to around $350,000 – $400,000, a price range target that aligns with the upper boundary of the regression channel.

The ‘Genuine’ Bearish Market

Despite the heightened fears of a bearish market at the moment, Van Lagen explains that the much-dreaded crypto winter only commences after Bitcoin reaches its upper boundary target, establishing a market top. Based on the presented analysis, the market expert predicts Bitcoin will crash from this market peak to retest the 210,000 block SMA, i.e, the lower trend line of the regression channel.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is valued at $84,300 after a 2.36% price loss in the past day. In the last month, the crypto market leader has experienced a 21.96% price devaluation, suggesting a rather volatile and cautious market condition.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from Tradingview

Top Stories of The Week

Bitcoiners lose their mind after Scott Bessent walks into a Bitcoin bar

The Bitcoin community lit up on Thursday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made an unannounced appearance at the launch of Washingtons new Bitcoin-themed bar, Pubkey.

Having the Secretary of the Treasury at the Pubkey DC launch seems like a moment I could easily look back on and say wow, it was all so obvious, Bitcoin treasury company Strives chief investment officer Ben Werkman said in an X post on Thursday.

Steven Lubka, Nakamotos vice president of investor relations, called it the sign you have been waiting for.

Many other prominent Bitcoiners, including Bitcoin analyst Fred Krueger, Gemini chief of staff Jeff Tiller, Bitcoin podcaster Natalie Brunell, and Bitcoin Policy Institute co-founder David Zell, also viewed Bessents appearance as a hugely positive sign for Bitcoin. 

Indias government may consider stablecoin framework, diverging from RBI

The government of India may consider stablecoin regulations in its Economic Survey 2025-2026, while the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) takes a cautious approach to crypto and pushes for a central bank digital currency, revealing a divergence in policy recommendations. 

The government will present its case for stablecoins in the annual report published by Indias Ministry of Finance, which outlines key policy recommendations and the state of the economy, business publication Moneycontrol reported, citing an official familiar with the matter. 

However, the central bank continues to urge a cautious approach to stablecoins, according to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, speaking at the Delhi School of Economics on Thursday.

Bitcoin hits most bearish levels: Is the bull cycle ending?

Bitcoin is entering bearish territory as institutional demand dries up and key market indicators point to a downward phase, according to data from analytics platform CryptoQuant.

Bitcoin market conditions have turned the most bearish within the current bull cycle that started in January 2023, CryptoQuant said in its latest crypto weekly report shared with Cointelegraph.

CryptoQuants Bull Score Index has declined to extreme bearish levels of 20/100, while the BTC price has fallen far below the 365-day moving average of $102,000 a key technical level and the final bearish signal marking the start of the 2022 bear market.

The price drop comes amid weakening institutional demand, including reduced buying by Bitcoin treasury firms such as Michael Saylors Strategy, along with limited inflows into exchange-traded funds.

Crypto ATM operator Crypto Dispensers said on Friday it is considering a $100 million sale offer, mere days after its founder and CEO, Firas Isa, was charged by federal prosecutors in connection with an alleged $10 million money laundering scheme. 

In a press release issued Nov. 21, the company stated it has retained advisors to support a "strategic review" and potential sale. The release highlighted the company's 2020 pivot from physical Bitcoin ATMs to a software-first model, a move the company claimed was designed to address "rising fraud exposure, regulatory pressure, and compliance demands."

Those same issues are central to the criminal case currently facing the firm. 

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that Isa and Virtual Assets LLC, which does business as Crypto Dispensers, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. As The Block previously reported, the indictment alleges that between 2018 and 2025, Isa knowingly accepted millions of dollars in proceeds from wire fraud and narcotics trafficking through the company’s ATM network.

Prosecutors allege Isa arranged for the illicit funds to be converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to wallets that concealed their source. Isa has pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. Isa previously said Crypto Dispensers was "built on compliance from day one" in a statement emailed to The Block. 

In the Friday announcement, Isa did not address the indictment but framed the company’s history as a successful transition away from hardware limitations. "Hardware showed us the ceiling. Software showed us the scale," Isa said in the statement. "This review is about understanding the next stage of growth and determining which path creates the most value for the platform we have built."

Crypto Dispensers did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from The Block regarding how the pending criminal charges might impact a potential sale, and whether or not it has a buyer lined up. 

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bitcoin is now sitting at one of its most critical junctures of the entire cycle. A rising-wedge breakdown has driven price straight into a key support zone just as BTC prints its first major post-ATH drawdown of over 33%, a level that has historically signaled prolonged weakness and heightened volatility. With technical pressure colliding with a historically significant threshold, the market now faces a decisive moment.

Rising Wedge Break Sends Bitcoin Lower Into Key Support Zone

Crypto analyst The Boss, in a recent breakdown of Bitcoin’s daily chart, highlighted the formation of a rising wedge pattern. As expected, Bitcoin has broken down from this wedge, sending the price sliding into what is considered a strong support zone. This level has historically acted as a turning point, making its current test a crucial moment for the market.

According to the analyst, this area could trigger a potential upward reaction, as buyers often step in when the price reaches such well-established support levels. However, the possibility of a rebound is not guaranteed. The structure must show early signs of strength before any meaningful recovery can be considered reliable. 

Momentum indicators paint a cautious picture as they remain notably weak, showing no clear signal of bullish pressure returning to the market. At the same time, trading volume remains lower than necessary for a confident reversal, suggesting that buyers have yet to step in. Without stronger participation, any bounce may be shallow or short-lived.

Due to these factors, the analyst emphasized that Bitcoin’s current level must be closely monitored. While a short-term reaction from support is possible, a failure to hold this zone would open the door to further downside and potentially expose deeper support areas. 

BTC Hits 33% Drawdown Threshold: A Historically Significant Signal

According to a recent update shared by Crypto Patel, Bitcoin has now recorded a 33% drawdown from its all-time high, marking a correction significant enough to grab the market’s full attention. This is more than a routine pullback; it represents a level of decline that has historically signaled deeper shifts in market sentiment.

Looking back through previous cycles, every instance where BTC retraced beyond 33% after a peak has been followed by prolonged periods of weakness, increased volatility, and continued downside pressure. These drawdowns often served as transitional phases, where momentum reset before the next major trend could establish itself. 

The market now sits in a critical phase, with traders and analysts watching closely to see whether Bitcoin repeats its well-known historical behavior or breaks the cycle with a stronger-than-expected recovery.

The transfer of Bitcoin from long-term holders, also known as “OGs,” to “weak” hands will cause future drawdowns to be more severe, according to gold investor and economist Peter Schiff.

Bitcoin is “finally having its IPO moment,” Schiff said on Saturday, adding that there is now enough liquidity in the Bitcoin market for long-term holders to cash out. 

“This much Bitcoin moving from strong to weak hands not only increases the float, but also means future selloffs will be bigger,” Schiff added.