On the evening of December 15, the cryptocurrency market faced another wave of heavy selling. The market leader, Bitcoin (BTC), lost around 3.7% and was trading near $86,231 at the time of writing.
Conditions across the altcoin market look no better. Ethereum (ETH) declined by 5.9% over the day, while XRP fell by approximately 5.5% compared with the previous session.
The main driver behind the current downturn has been large-scale liquidations of long positions totaling roughly $380 million, triggered by an extremely weak market sentiment. Despite Bitcoin trading only about 31% below its all-time high, the overall mood feels as if the crypto market has slipped back into a full-scale bear phase.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has dropped to just 11 out of 100, signaling an almost extreme level of fear among investors.
Additional pressure came from outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs. On Monday, December 15, around $357 million was withdrawn from these funds, adding to the downside pressure on prices.
What’s next?
For now, the market structure remains clearly negative. The situation is further complicated by macroeconomic factors, including historic interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which have weighed heavily on risk assets. Until these effects are offset by a meaningful shift toward easier monetary policy in the United States, expectations for a sustained market recovery remain limited.
At the same time, analysts note that with sentiment this deeply “blood-red,” the room for further downside may already be quite limited. Historically, such extreme fear levels have often laid the groundwork for stabilization and a subsequent rebound—although the timing of any recovery remains uncertain.