STH Panic Emerges as Bitcoin Crashes To $81K: Realized P/L Turns Negative For The First Time This Cycle

Anchorage Digital has expanded its support for the Hyperliquid ecosystem by adding HYPE staking on HyperCORE, complementing its existing HYPE custody services on HyperEVM. 

Staking, the process of locking crypto to secure a blockchain network in exchange for earning rewards, is being offered through Anchorage Digital Bank and through Anchorage Digital Singapore, which holds a Major Payment Institution license. The company said staking will also be available through Porto, its self-custody wallet.

The bank is partnering with staking infrastructure provider Figment to run the underlying validator infrastructure, it said in a Friday announcement.

With custody and staking now live across HyperEVM and HyperCORE, the company said it can support a wider range of Hyperliquid activity, including access to its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem through Porto and custody for additional HyperEVM tokens, such as Kinetiq.

Hyperliquid, a layer 1 blockchain powering a decentralized exchange, uses its own architecture split between HyperEVM for Ethereum-style smart contracts and HyperCORE for native staking. 

The latest move from Anchorage Digital comes two days after it announced a partnership with Mezo, a DeFi platform for Bitcoin-backed borrowing.

Anchorage Digital Bank, founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, is the only federally chartered crypto bank in the United States. It operates in conjunction with the broader Anchorage Digital platform.

Institutional DeFi gains momentum

Anchorage Digital’s latest initiative reflects a wider trend of pulling DeFi infrastructure and yield-generating staking into institutional platforms, as more custodians and infrastructure providers begin offering controlled access to staking and other onchain services.

In October, Crypto.com announced that users would be able to lend wrapped cryptocurrency and earn stablecoin yield through Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol. Morpho plans to launch stablecoin markets on the Cronos blockchain, with initial vaults expected to be launched this year.

In September, Coinbase followed suit by adding support for Morpho directly inside the Coinbase app. The integration allows users to lend USDC (USDC) and earn up to 10.8% yield without navigating external DeFi platforms or separate wallets.

In November, crypto infrastructure company Threshold upgraded its tBTC bridge to enable institutions to mint tBTC on supported chains in a single Bitcoin transaction, without requiring extra approvals or gas fees. The company said the changes are meant to make it easier for large Bitcoin (BTC) holders to deploy assets into DeFi protocols rather than keeping them idle.

A report from Binance Research found that DeFi lending protocols have grown more than 72% from January to Sept. 3. The company said the surge is being driven by increased institutional use of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" financial literacy book, has sold Bitcoin that he owned for a total of $2.25 million in value, according to his most recent social media post. 

Kiyosaki claims that he bought these Bitcoins years ago at $6,000 per coin. Hence, his purchase price was far lower than his sale price, generating a large gain.

The controversial pundit says that he sold his Bitcoin for "approximately $90,000" per coin.

Kiyosaki's next moves 

He used the proceeds from selling Bitcoin to purchase two surgery centers. The financial commentators also invested in a billboard business.

Kiyosaki, who infamously filed for bankruptcy in October 2012, believes that these new businesses will generate approximately $27,500 per month in tax-free income by next February.

This is positive cash flow, meaning the income exceeds the costs of running these businesses.

Future Bitcoin plans 

Kisaki's decision to jump ship might seem surprising, given that he previously predicted that he predicted that the price of Bitcoin could surge to as high as $250,000. Earlier this month, he said that he kept buying Bitcoin and Ethereum following the market correction while predicting "massive riches." 

Despite selling, Kiyosaki is still bullish on Bitcoin. He plans to buy more Bitcoin in the future with the help of the cash flow from his new businesses.

The cryptocurrency is currently trading at $84,475, experiencing substantial volatility. Earlier today, it briefly collapsed below $81,000 on the Bitstamp exchange.

Crypto markets continued to sell off on Friday after more than $2 billion in leveraged positions were flushed out in the past 24 hours, but some institutional analysts say signs of a bottom are emerging, even if more pain is possible.

Speaking on CNBC, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said the sell-off is being driven by a classic clash between short-term fear and long-term conviction.

"It's a tale of two markets," he said. "Short-term investors see global risk-off sentiment, the DAT trade unwinding, and fallout from the October 10 volatility event. But long-term investors are starting to nibble at these prices."

Hougan said several of the world’s largest allocators, including the Harvard endowment and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, are watching bitcoin’s retracement as a potential entry point. While he acknowledged that a move into the "mid or low 70s" is still possible, he argued the market is "closer to the bottom than the beginning of the pullback."

Some investors are focused on the $84,000 area, which Hougan noted was the March pullback low and a level many traders still view as a potential base. Others believe prices could revisit the pre-Trump-election range near $70,000 after bitcoin's run to an October all-time high of over $126,000 drew in new, less-convicted buyers who are now being shaken out.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Chart. Source: The Block/TradingView

Hougan added that "pointing to any one factor is missing the boat," but emphasized global liquidity being the dominant driver. "Crypto is down because global liquidity is down. The DAT trade is unwinding. Risk-off sentiment is emerging."

A cleaner setup

Also a guest on CNBC, Cantor Fitzgerald's chief equity and macro strategist Eric Johnston said the violent cross-asset selloff reflects a broader de-risking cycle that engulfed both bitcoin and crowded AI trades.

"We entered this with leverage in the system," he said. "There's been a significant hit, a significant de-risking, and now things are cleaner."

On bitcoin specifically, Johnston argued that the asset’s ownership structure has shifted meaningfully since past drawdowns of 55% to 80% in prior cycles.

"There’s a lot more institutional ownership. Stablecoins have emerged. There's legislation," he said. "That has reduced — although not today — overall volatility."

The path forward

Both analysts agreed that the longer-term outlook depends heavily on macro conditions.

Johnston said the prospect of Fed rate cuts and even quantitative easing in 2026 is "very favorable for bitcoin," while Hougan emphasized that the "debasement trade" remains intact despite near-term liquidation pressure.

Neither dismissed the risk of further downside before a durable floor forms. Hougan suggested the most important variable is simply the timeframe.

"Could it go a little bit lower? Of course," he said. "But for long-term investors looking out to 2026 and beyond, these are compelling entry points."

The GMCI 30, which represents a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, traded around 149.50 at publication time. The index is down abotu 12% over the past week and nearly 30% over the past month.

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.

The largest Ethereum treasury company, BitMine Immersion Technologies, said it will become "the first large-cap crypto company to declare an annual dividend," as the firm posts its first earnings report since the crypto market pullback in the second half of the year that has seen digital asset treasuries struggle.

BitMine will offer an annual dividend of $0.01 per BMNR share. The stock is trading around $26.49, up slightly on the day, but down significantly from a yearly high watermark of $135 set in early July, shortly after the firm announced its ETH acquisition strategy, according to The Block’s price page.

The dividend, payable on Dec. 29, is BitMine's latest attempt to return shareholder value through traditional equities engineering. In July, the firm became one of the first DATs to approve a share buyback plan to supplement its ongoing ETH purchases.

Backed by leading investors including ARK's Cathie Wood, DCG, Founders Fund, Galaxy Digital, Pantera, and individual investors like Wall Street titans Bill Miller III and Tom Lee, BitMine is the second-largest crypto treasury firm after Strategy, and by far the largest public ETH-focused DAT.

The firm recorded $328 million in net income for its fiscal year ending Aug. 31, equating to $13.39 in fully diluted earnings per share, according to Friday's release. It holds nearly $10 billion worth of ETH — 3.55 million tokens purchased at an average price of around $3,120.

Negative mNAV

ETH is trading around $2,730 on Friday, according to The Block's data, indicating BitMine’s multiple to Net Asset Value (mNAV) has fallen below 1.0x. With ETH sitting near multi-month lows, the company sits on an unrealized loss of roughly $4.52 billion.

A representative for a competing ETH treasury firm, the Ether Machine, told The Block that the outlook for crypto DATs that acquired tokens via at-the-money issuances is "grim."

"The way in which BitMine (BMNR) and Sharplink (SBET) have raised over $10B to buy more ETH over the last 6 months is a capital lever that breaks under the market conditions we find ourselves in now, leaving retail shareholders effectively exposed to a greater loss than if they just purchased ETH," the representative said.

According to Ether Machine’s calculations, "an August BMNR purchaser is down ~73%, compared to an outright ETH purchaser during that time frame, who would be down ~30%," considering that ETH was above $4,000 for much of that month.

Of course, BitMine is far from the only DAT to decline in value amid a weakening crypto market. The Block reportedly earlier Friday that the combined market capitalization of crypto treasury firms has plunged from $176 billion in July to roughly $99 billion today.

Despite BMNR’s performance, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said the firm is "well positioned in 2026." BMNR is down nearly 50% over the past 30 days, though still up about 258% year-to-date.

The firm’s staking solution — dubbed the Made in America Validator Network, or MAVAN — will debut in the first quarter, boosting the firm’s mining operations. BitMine noted it operates Bitcoin mining operations in Trinidad and Texas.

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.

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Friday! The ongoing crypto sell-off may be relentless, but we'll try to keep things upbeat as we dive into the latest news.

In today's market crash special, bitcoin plunges further as U.S. jobs data dampens rate cut hopes, JPMorgan says the correction appears to be driven by retail selling of BTC and ETH ETFs, crypto liquidations top $2 billion in 24 hours, and more.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials probe Chinese bitcoin-mining machine giant Bitmain over national security concerns.

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!

Bitcoin plunges toward $80K as US jobs data dampens rate cut hopes

Bitcoin is trading near $84,000, recovering after plunging to new local lows of approximately $80,500 earlier on Friday, triggered by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

• The delayed September payrolls report showed 119,000 new jobs versus the 50,000 estimate, reinforcing inflation concerns and weakening hopes for a December rate cut, Kronos Research CIO Vincent Liu said.
• Liu added that thin liquidity and short-term profit-taking are amplifying the drop as traders recalibrate risk around shifting macro expectations.
• Even if the Fed cuts in December, Liu argued that bitcoin needs fresh capital, renewed onchain demand, and a halt in quantitative tightening to sustain any meaningful rebound.
• The Crypto Fear & Greed Index now sits at 11 — comparable to the 2022 bear market lows — signaling extreme fear as the broader crypto market cap slid below $3 trillion for the first time since May.
• However, LVRG Research Director Nick Ruck said the pullback reflects a healthy repricing of overextended positioning, with onchain metrics hinting that capitulation may be nearing completion.

JPMorgan says correction appears driven by retail selling of BTC and ETH ETFs

JPMorgan analysts said the latest crypto correction is being driven mainly by retail outflows from spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, with about $4 billion pulled from the funds so far in November.

• Retail investors have simultaneously poured roughly $96 billion into equity ETFs this month, showing the crypto sell-off isn't part of a broader retreat from risk, they argued.
• The analysts noted that while crypto-native deleveraging has stabilized since October, more traditional retail investors have shown this split before — selling crypto ETFs while buying equities.
• "It would thus be a mistake to extrapolate the selling of crypto ETFs as a signal that retail investors are turning bearish on risk assets more broadly including equities," they wrote.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs see near-record outflows of $903 million

Continuing on the ETF theme, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $903 million in net outflows on Thursday — their second-largest daily drawdown ever — marking a sharp sentiment reversal from earlier this month.

• BlackRock's IBIT, Grayscale's GBTC, and Fidelity's FBTC led the exodus as Nvidia's accounts receivable scare hit both tech and crypto, BTC Markets analyst Rachael Lucas noted.
• However, cumulative inflows into the funds still total $57.4 billion, with $113 billion in AUM, suggesting participants are trimming exposure rather than abandoning bitcoin outright, Lucas said.
• Spot Ethereum ETFs saw $261.6 million in daily outflows, while newly launched altcoin ETFs bucked the trend with strong inflows led by $105.4 million into Bitwise's XRP fund and modest gains across Solana and HBAR products.

Crypto liquidations top $2 billion in 24 hours

Over $2 billion in leveraged crypto positions were wiped out in the past 24 hours amid bitcoin's latest plunge, triggering one of the largest liquidation waves of the year and the biggest since Oct. 10.

• CoinGlass data shows that around 400,000 traders were wiped out, with the single-largest order — a $36.8 million BTC-USD position — taken out on Hyperliquid.
• However, it's important to note that liquidation data is imperfect, with partial reporting from some crypto exchanges meaning headline totals likely understate the true scale of forced unwinds.
• BRN Head of Research Timothy Misir said bitcoin is entering a capitulation zone, with short-term holders realizing losses at cycle-level extremes, and a failure to reclaim $88,000 to $90,000 risks a further slide toward $78,000.
• Meanwhile, Bitwise's Andre Dragosch said bitcoin is nearing a potential "max-pain" reset, with institutional cost bases clustered around $84,000 and $73,000 — zones where forced sellers historically exhaust and recoveries often begin.

Crypto treasury firms buckle as crash erodes nearly half of combined market caps

Digital asset treasury firms are taking heavy damage, with their combined market caps nearly halving from a $176 billion peak in July to about $99 billion today, tracking the sharp decline in crypto prices.

• The combined value of crypto holdings held by DATs has also fallen from $141 billion when bitcoin made an all-time high on Oct. 6 to $104 billion as of Nov. 21, according to The Block's data dashboard.
• Strategy, Bitmine, and Forward Industries are all seeing steep stock drawdowns as their respective BTC, ETH, and SOL positions unwind, and although Michael Saylor's firm remains above water, many DATs are now sitting on deep unrealized losses.
• Meanwhile, Saylor said Friday that Strategy's conviction in bitcoin is "unwavering," pushing back against the idea it may be removed from MSCI indexes amid the stock's sell-off.

Looking ahead to next week

• U.S. PPI data are out on Tuesday. U.S. jobless claims, PCE, and GDP figures follow on Wednesday, alongside the UK budget statement.
• ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak on Monday.
• Tornado Cash, Euler, Monad, Blast, and Wormhole are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
• Devconnect concludes in Buenos Aires. The Australian Crypto Convention gets underway.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.

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.

The XRP price has spent the past week struggling with bearish momentum, and the latest dip below the $2 price level has further added to the bearish sentiment. The cryptocurrency briefly slid under this psychological level in the past 24 hours, continuing a multi-week sequence of lower highs and lower lows. 

Despite this pullback, one crypto analyst on X proposes that the current movement is not as alarming as it appears. His price chart, which maps XRP’s weekly candles, shows the XRP price falling to a familiar support area inside a larger descending channel.

XRP Price Still Trading Inside A Year-Long Range

XRP’s break below $2 might be the final blow for many bullish traders, but some are still holding on. In his breakdown, the analyst reminded followers that XRP has been moving within the same broad range between $1.90 and $3.50 for nearly a year. According to him, the recent drop to the lower boundary of this range is simply the market revisiting an already-established zone. 

He highlighted the green support region around $1.90, which has repeatedly prevented a deeper collapse throughout late 2024 and early 2025. The chart he shared shows XRP’s weekly candles inching toward that support, touching the edge of the descending yellow channel that has shaped price action since the last major rejection near the red resistance band above $3.

Keeping this price action and the price range in mind, the analyst noted that nothing meaningful changes unless XRP breaks below $1.90 A breakdown beneath this area, in his words, would send XRP “back to McDonald’s,” which is a far more severe retracement. However, as long as the green support is in place, the ongoing decline can be categorized as noise inside a larger consolidation phase. 

On the opposite end of the chart sits the $3.60 resistance. The red zone marking this area was tested earlier in the year but rejected strongly, creating the broad range XRP has been stuck in ever since. Clearing this ceiling, the analyst said, would unlock what he called “the road to Valhalla.”

XRP Price Chart. Source: @stedas On X

The Road To Valhalla: What Comes After A Break Above $3.6

If XRP manages to break through the $3.60barrier, the analyst believes the path opens toward aggressive upside targets. His post listed potential milestones at $7, $12, and potentially even $25 if momentum expands into a full-scale rally. The yellow upward projection line in the chart illustrates how quickly XRP could move once that resistance is flipped into support.

These price targets are consistent with mid-scale predictions by other analysts. XRP price predictions on the high end range from three digits at $100, up until $1,000. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.96, down by 8% in the past 24 hours.