Morning Minute: Bitcoin Breaks Below $100K for First Time Since May

Tuesday was a bloody day for crypto markets, but there are signs of recovery and reasons for hope.

By Tyler Warner

5 min read

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors fall another 2-5% but begin to recover; BTC at $102,300
  • Mando vs KBM bet resolves as Bitcoin briefly slips below $100k
  • ZKsync shares plans for ZK token utility, pumps 25%
  • Gemini shares plans to launch a prediction market
  • Sequans DAT sells $100M in Bitcoin, becomes latest DAT seller

📉 Bitcoin Breaks $100K for First Time Since May

Bitcoin finally cracked below $100,000 for the first time since summer.

But beneath the carnage, there are reasons for optimism.

📌 What Happened

BTC dropped ~6% on Tuesday to dip just under $100K, triggering a wave of over $2B in long liquidations across exchanges.

The sell cascade resolved one of the longer standing prediction markets on Myriad, with $100k officially hitting before $120k in the now infamous “Mando vs KBM” bet that KBM one (pour one out for the bulls).

Looking down the risk curve, ETH and SOL followed Bitcoin, each down 10–15% with ETH falling below $3,100 and SOL going sub-$150.

Several alts and memes dropped even more, with several down 30-60%+ on the month.

All while sentiment remains in Extreme Fear (thought 2 points higher than Monday).

But (and there is a but) - a recovery is seemingly in the works.

This morning, BTC is back to $102,000 and climbing; ETH is back over $3,340 and SOL is closing in on $160.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“-38% on ETH from the top so far last cycle after breaking successive ATHs, we saw drawdowns (and recoveries after each one) of: -37% in February ‘21 -23% in April ‘21 -60% in May-July ‘21, -34% in September ‘21 each one was an existential crisis maybe this is the start of the multi-year bear, or maybe people forgot what bull markets feel like” - DCinvestor, on X

🧠 Why It Matters

It’s easy to freak out under these circumstances (and you wouldn’t be alone).

But there are reasons for optimism.

For one, pullbacks like this are common for major crypto assets. Yes the volatility is not fun to endure in the moment, but it is what has historically been the price for outsized gains.

Second, the US government shutdown (a big and growing economic overhang in the US) is showing signs of promise that it may be ending soon.

And the primary macro bull case that has driven this entire cycle is still alive. ETF inflows are ongoing, 401k access is coming, government spending is ever-rising (debasement trade), the US is actively embracing Bitcoin and building in crypto in the United States has never been easier.

Don’t capitulate and let the Bankers steal your Bitcoin…

🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

In Corporate Treasuries / ETFs

In Memes

  • Memecoin leaders are mixed after their recent downturn; DOGE -1%, Shiba -2%, PEPE -2%, PENGU even, BONK +1%, TRUMP -1%, SPX +4%, and FARTCOIN +2%
  • jellyjelly briefly spiked to $500M before retracing nearly 60% to $222M
  • 1 (+80% to $27M) and ALCH (+27% to $70M) were notable movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

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