Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has dropped to $95,000, marking an 8% decline from its all-time high of $103,679 recorded on Dec. 5, 2024.

The downturn comes amidst macroeconomic developments and key events impacting the broader cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin sell-off has triggered massive liquidations in the derivatives market.

Over the past 24 hours, 582,918 traders were liquidated, totaling $1.75 billion in liquidations across exchanges. The largest single liquidation occurred on Binance, involving an ETH/USDT trade worth $19.69 million. Notably, $1.56 billion in long positions — bets that price would rise — were wiped out during this period.

BTC Drops As Microsoft’s Shareholders Vote No

Bitcoin’s dip aligns with a Microsoft shareholder vote on Dec. 10, which rejected a proposal to add Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet as part of a diversification strategy.

The proposal originated from Microsoft’s Form 14A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in October.

U.S. Investors Step In as Coinbase Premium Rebounds

Despite the sharp downturn, institutional investors appear to be capitalizing on the dip.

The Coinbase Premium — a metric that tracks the price difference between Bitcoin in the U.S.-based Coinbase Pro and Binance — has rebounded after briefly turning negative. A negative premium often signals panic selling, particularly on Binance, which has a higher concentration of retail traders. When this happens, U.S. institutional investors typically step in to buy aggressively.

“This rebound suggests that when excessive panic selling occurs on Binance, U.S. institutional investors are likely to adopt an aggressive buying strategy,” noted a pseudonymous QCP crypto analyst.

Market Outlook

Analysts emphasize that Bitcoin’s ability to hold critical support levels will determine its next move. Ali Martinez, a cryptocurrency trader, noted the importance of Bitcoin staying above $96,000 to avoid a steeper correction.

“I think it is very important for Bitcoin to hold above $96,000. Otherwise, we could repeat last year’s pattern, with a potential drop to $85,000!” Martinez shared on X (formerly Twitter).

Bitwise, a provider of cryptocurrency index and investment products, has shared an optimistic outlook for 2025, predicting that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana will achieve new all-time highs.

According to Bitwise, Bitcoin could surge to $200,000, while Ethereum and Solana are projected to reach $7,000 and $750, respectively.