Bitcoin’s Tragicomic Plunge: $75K or Bust? 🎭💸

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Ah, the wretched dance of the crypto markets! Chris Burniske, that sagacious cofounder of Placeholder and erstwhile crypto oracle at Ark Invest, hath proclaimed with a sigh that “last Friday’s massacre hath shattered the very soul of crypto for a spell.” 🪦✨ He doth argue, with a flourish of his quill, that the post-selloff market shall flounder like a fish out of water, struggling to “conjure a sustained bid”-a bid as elusive as a ghost in a Gogol novella. “Perchance,” he muses, “I shall deign to glance at the market once more when Bitcoin doth tumble to $75K or lower.” 🤑

A Bear Market’s Grotesque Waltz? 🦝💃

In a missive on the fateful Friday, October 17, Burniske scribbled that this cycle “hath been a disappointment most foul,” a sentiment that “paralyzeth action as souls pine for bluer skies, or the glory of former ATHs.” 🌩️ He urged investors to think in linear monthly terms, eschewing the “chart minutiae” that doth drive men to madness. “MSTR slippeth, gold sendeth a dire warning, as do the credit markets, and stocks shall be the last to grasp the message…” he added, with a dramatic flourish. “I yearn to witness how $BTC respondeth to $100K, but perchance I shall return to the fray when $BTC doth plummet to $75K or lower.” The post, a spectacle of woe, garnered 50.2K views, a testament to its tragic allure.

Burniske’s lament follows the October 10 selloff, a calamity that sent Bitcoin tumbling to the mid-$100Ks in intraday trade, triggering the sharpest reset of leverage the crypto realm hath ever witnessed. The market’s tone this week doth echo his “broke the bid” framing. By Friday morn in Europe, Bitcoin was exchanged below $106,000 once more, leaving it a woeful 15% below its monthly peak and dragging the total crypto market capitalization beneath $3.6 trillion. A tragedy most foul! 😱

The spot-ETF complex-the lifeblood of this cycle’s marginal demand-mirrored the risk-off turn. Following the liquidation shock, US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs posted combined net outflows for the week to date (Monday-Thursday). Bitcoin ETFs registered -$858.7 million, with three of four sessions bathed in red, while Ether ETFs were -$79.5 million, split evenly with two inflow and two outflow days. A financial ballet of despair! 💔

Responses to Burniske on X captured the debate over whether October 10 marked a cyclical break or a violent, yet ultimately constructive, reset. Shanaka Anslem Perera, a quant and derivatives-focused trader, dubbed it a “VaR shock, not a cycle top,” arguing that “basis/funding/OI all got reset → leverage washed out, new upside will need spot demand, not perps,” and that “the marginal bid hath changed: US spot ETFs + corporate/sovereign treasuries.” Burniske, ever the gentleman, replied, “Excellent breakdown, thank you for sharing.” Another commenter, Magumsy, pushed back, declaring that calling the event “breaking crypto” was “overblown,” citing “on-chain flows and institutional liquidity” as buffers. Burniske clarified, with a wry smile, that he meant it “broke a lot of peoples’, or institutions’, appetites to bid.” 🍽️

Asked about altcoins if a bear market begins here, he answered bluntly: “Depends on the alt, some are bottomless – imo it’s time to consolidate into your highest conviction names + USD, or at least that’s what I’ve done.” A sage yet sardonic counsel! 🧙♂️

Whether Bitcoin must revisit the mid-$70Ks to entice sidelined capital is now the crux of positioning. Burniske’s tactical map-watch behavior “at $100K” and get “interested… at $75K or lower”-implies a broad re-rating of risk premia after a cycle that, in his words, “was different,” with the next bear “different too.” A tale of woe and wonder! 📉

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $104,809, a number as fleeting as a Gogol protagonist’s sanity. 🌪️

Bitcoin Price Chart

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2025-10-18 04:13