Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has raised questions about Tether's balance sheet strategy, suggesting the stablecoin issuer is positioning for Federal Reserve rate cuts through substantial hard asset purchases. Hayes noted Tether holds approximately $13 billion in gold and $10 billion in Bitcoin. He warned that a 30% decline in these combined holdings could theoretically eliminate the firm's equity buffer, raising solvency concerns under such a scenario.

BlackRock's Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio increased its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) position by 14% between June and September, bringing total holdings to 2.39 million shares valued at approximately $156 million, according to a quarterly filing. The expansion occurred as Bitcoin recovered to $90,000 after a 29% decline from its October peak. Nasdaq ISE filed to raise IBIT options position limits to one million contracts from the current 250,000.

The South African Reserve Bank has identified regulatory gaps in its oversight of digital assets as a growing threat to financial stability. Stablecoin trading volumes in the country surged from under 4 billion rand in 2022 to nearly 80 billion rand by October 2024. The central bank and National Treasury are developing stricter cross-border crypto regulations expected to take effect in 2025.

Bitcoin fell below $86,000 as a month-long decline continued, marking the weakest market conditions since 2022. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes expects BTC to remain under $90,000 near-term with potential dips into the low $80,000s, though he believes the $80,000 level will hold as support.

Strategy's Bitcoin holdings face significant unrealized losses after BTC dropped below $90,000. Nearly 40% of the company's 649,870 Bitcoin are currently underwater, according to CryptoQuant data. The firm's recent purchase of 8,178 BTC at $102,171 has declined by approximately $100 million in value.

Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 this week for the first time since April, driving the Crypto Fear & Greed Index to 15—its lowest reading since early 2025. The cryptocurrency has declined nearly 30% from its October peak of approximately $126,000. Market analysts note that historical corrections of similar magnitude have typically preceded new all-time highs.

Bitcoin's 30-day correlation with the Nasdaq 100 reached approximately 0.80, marking the strongest reading since 2022 and the second-highest in a decade, according to the Kobeissi Letter. BTC fell below $93,000 on November 17, 2025, while the total crypto market cap stood at $3.25 trillion. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 10, signaling extreme fear among market participants.

Bitcoin dropped below $95,000 amid intensified selling pressure, falling more than 6% in 24 hours. The decline was driven by macroeconomic concerns, weakened ETF demand, and elevated market leverage. Analysts are monitoring the $92,000-$94,000 range as critical support, with a potential decline to $85,000 if this level breaks. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $492 million in net outflows on November 14, 2025, marking the third consecutive day of withdrawals.

Large Ethereum holders have started buying again following significant sell-offs earlier in October. Addresses holding 100 to 10,000 ETH sold approximately 1.36 million coins between October 5 and 16, then repurchased nearly one-sixth of that volume. On-chain data shows individual wallets withdrew tens of millions of dollars worth of ETH from exchanges.