Home / Finance

Bitcoin Slips Under $90,000 as Spot ETF Investors Pull $3.4 Billion in November

Two months after a record high near $126,000, bitcoin has lost about 28% as fund outflows and shaky rate-cut hopes drain demand.

FinanceDec 11, 20254 min read2 diagrams

Key takeaways

  • Bitcoin traded near $90,000 on Dec. 11, 2025, roughly 28% below its Oct. 6 record of $126,080.
  • U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw $3.4 billion of net outflows in November, erasing October's inflows.
  • Total crypto market value fell 17% to about $3.04 trillion as traders priced a slower Fed easing path.

Bitcoin fell below $90,000 on December 11, a day after the Federal Reserve cut rates, extending a slide that began with October's record high. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the channel that brought Wall Street money into the asset, have turned from buyer to seller.

The slide in numbers

Bitcoin peaked at $126,080 on October 6. Four days later a leveraged sell-off hit the market, and the price dropped to a low of $104,782 during the October 10 and 11 liquidation wave. It bounced, but never reclaimed the highs. By December 11, Reuters data had it down 2.5% on the day at about $90,056, and one analyst cited a dip from around $91,000 to $88,000. Ether fell 4.3% to roughly $3,197.

The wider market followed. Total crypto market capitalisation dropped 17% to $3.04 trillion, according to the Reuters report. That figure makes the move a broad risk-off episode and not a bitcoin-specific story.

Bar chart of bitcoin price at three points: $126,080 peak, $104,782 crash low, $90,056 on Dec. 11 Bitcoin price, selected points (USD) 0 40k 80k 120k $126,080 $104,782 $90,056 Oct 6 record Oct 10-11 low Dec 11 Bars drawn from zero; intraday values
Source: Bitcoin.com News (peak and October low), Reuters via Khaleej Times (Dec. 11 price).

The October hangover

The turning point was the October 10 to 11 crash, which followed a U.S. announcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. Data from CoinGlass cited by Blockhead put liquidations at about $19.3 billion, of which roughly $16.8 billion were long positions, making it the largest forced-selling event in crypto history. Bitcoin rebounded to about $115,000 within days, which convinced many traders the dip was a one-off. It was not: the price kept making lower highs through November and into December.

That matters for how to read December's price. A market that has just been through a record deleveraging has fewer marginal buyers willing to borrow, so rallies fade sooner. Bitcoin also lost its autumn seasonal pattern: it ended October lower for the first time since 2018, according to reports at the time, a month that had historically been strong.

Why the ETFs matter

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw $3.4 billion of net outflows in November, according to CoinDesk data cited by Reuters, wiping out October's net inflows. JPMorgan analysts said flows into U.S.-listed crypto products had turned negative. That reverses the pattern of 2024 and much of 2025, when ETF buying absorbed supply and helped pull the price to records.

ETFs matter because they turn a retail-heavy market into one tied to brokerage accounts and advisers. Flows from those accounts tend to follow price and macro sentiment, so they can amplify moves in both directions. When the price slips and the Fed signals fewer cuts, the same channel that fed the rally becomes a source of selling.

Diagram showing how Fed expectations, ETF outflows and liquidations feed a bitcoin price decline Fed signals pause fewer cuts after December ETF outflows $3.4B net in November Leverage unwinds liquidations since Oct 10 Spot selling demand thins out BTC ~ $90k -28% from peak
How the pressures stack up, as described by market analysts. Illustrative.

There is also a distribution effect. Anyone who bought during the autumn run-up above $100,000 is now sitting on a loss, and investors holding through advisers or model portfolios often rebalance on a schedule rather than ride out drawdowns. The November figure is large not only because of its size but because it erased an inflow month: October had been positive despite the crash, which suggests some buyers treated the dip as an entry point before reversing in November.

The rate backdrop

The Fed lowered rates on Wednesday, December 10, but the market sold off afterward. Bitget's Gracy Chen said Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank may pause rate cuts after December. For an asset with no cash flows, higher-for-longer rates raise the opportunity cost of holding it, and the same week saw weakness in technology shares over AI profit worries.

What to watch

  • Weekly ETF flows. A return to net inflows would be the cleanest sign that institutional demand is back.
  • The $88,000 to $91,000 band. The analyst range cited in the Reuters report is the near-term zone traders are watching.
  • Fed guidance. Any signal on the pace of cuts in 2026 will feed straight into crypto positioning.
  • Leverage. The October 10 wipe-out showed how fast forced selling can cascade; repeated liquidations would signal more pain.

Sources

  1. Bitcoin plummets below $90,000 as AI future worries investors — Khaleej Times (Reuters)
  2. Bitcoin price one year after the $19 billion liquidation crash — Bitcoin.com News
  3. Bitcoin price today: dips to $92k as Fed cut doubts spark risk-off mood — Investing.com

More in Finance