Introduction

Bitcoin's grip on the crypto market has abruptly loosened. In a sharp move that has rattled investors, its market dominance just plunged below the critical 60% threshold for the first time in a month. This was amplified by a brutal price collapse below $90,000 that has wiped out all of its 2025 gains. The twin signals of falling dominance and price paint a fragile picture, raising urgent questions about market leadership and the risk of a deeper, more prolonged sell-off.

What

In the early hours of November 18, 2025, Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization fell below 60%, a level not breached for over a month, as its price simultaneously broke critical support to trade under $90,000 across major exchanges.

Why

The catalyst appears to be a toxic cocktail of technical failure and souring sentiment. Analysts highlight the break below the 50-week moving average as a major technical blow, shaking the confidence of long-term holders. This is compounded by bearish chatter about a potential delay in Bitcoin's predictable four-year market cycle, a cornerstone of many bullish theses. The market is reacting to a perceived lack of immediate upside catalysts, coupled with persistent macroeconomic uncertainties that are dampening risk appetite across all asset classes.

Impact

The immediate impact is a wave of liquidations and a spike in fear, with Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume surging to over $114 billion as traders scrambled to react. In the medium term, this erodes Bitcoin's status as a relative safe haven within crypto; even as other assets like Ethereum and Solana also fell, Bitcoin's slide suggests it is bearing the brunt of the bearish momentum. Long-term, if dominance continues to wane through this downturn, it could signal a structural shift in capital allocation towards a more diversified basket of crypto assets, challenging Bitcoin's undisputed reign.

Action Steps

Investors should now watch the ~$92,000 level, which analysts identify as a critical former support zone. A failure to reclaim this level could open the door to further downside. Traders should monitor altcoin/BTC trading pairs closely; relative strength in these pairs could confirm a genuine capital rotation, whereas continued weakness would suggest a market-wide flight to cash or stablecoins. Finally, keeping an eye on institutional fund flow data for signs of large-scale capitulation or accumulation will be key to gauging the next major market move.

Analyst Opinions

  • An analyst cited by Decrypt warns that the "picture remains fragile" for Bitcoin after it erased all its 2025 gains. They point to the technical breakdown below the 50-week moving average and bearish sentiment surrounding a potentially delayed four-year cycle as key drivers for the downturn, suggesting that weak liquidity could prevent a quick rebound.
  • Reporting from Bloomberg highlights that the slide from the October record high of over $126,000 has rocked sentiment across the digital-asset world. Their analysis suggests that the break below the key psychological level of $90,000 mirrors previous major downturns, connecting it to broader market shocks and indicating that the path of least resistance may be lower until a significant positive catalyst emerges.