WEEKLY: Bitcoin drops to $75,000, $1.25B in liquidations, and new MicroStrategy purchases

The market experienced an exhausting price roller coaster: from Bitcoin's impulsive surge above $81,000 to a sharp pullback that wiped out positions for thousands of traders and triggered a wave of mass liquidations against the backdrop of the US election race.

While speculators were counting their losses, institutional giants stuck to their strategy. MicroStrategy traditionally bought another batch of Bitcoin, Tether disclosed impressive figures for its own cryptocurrency reserves, and JPMorgan investment analysts added the primary cryptocurrency to their ten-year capital market models.

While a court in Canada issued a landmark ruling regarding a seized crypto wallet, the relevant committee in Ukraine took a long-awaited step toward legalizing virtual assets and establishing tax rules for the sector.

Bitcoin tests nerve limits 

If you followed the BTC charts, you noticed the heightened volatility throughout the entire week. An attempt to consolidate above the $81,000 mark was accompanied by massive short liquidations totaling $715.1 million, yet the asset failed to hold its upward momentum.

Following a correction in the US tech sector, Bitcoin's price reversed sharply, dropping to $75,000. This move triggered a significantly larger liquidation wave totaling $1.25 billion, with long positions accounting for over $1.11 billion. Analysts point to a marked deterioration in market sentiment driven by US political factors, though technical indicators of seller exhaustion leave room for a local recovery from key support levels.

Tether discloses its own reserves

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that the company holds approximately 150,000 BTC, currently valued at over $11.5 billion. Note that this figure turned out to be roughly 50,000 BTC higher than the numbers reflected in previous official backing reports for the USDT stablecoin.

Company executive management emphasized that these Bitcoin investments belong directly to Tether Corporation and are stored separately from the liquid reserves guaranteeing the USDT stablecoin's peg to the US dollar. Despite the lack of specific details regarding wallet addresses and purchase timelines for the additional coins, the statement solidifies Tether's position as one of the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holders.

MicroStrategy buys another stash

MicroStrategy released another report on expanding its cryptocurrency reserves. Between October 26 and November 1, the firm acquired 811 BTC for approximately $65.5 million. The average purchase price stood at $80,846 per coin.

The deal was traditionally funded through sales of MSTR common stock under its active ATM program. The company's total Bitcoin holdings reached 849,327 BTC, with cumulative acquisition costs exceeding $64.08 billion, confirming Michael Saylor's steadfast strategy.

Canadian precedent with a wallet

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Canada, ruled to return a laptop containing a Bitcoin wallet to the family of convicted murderer William Sandeson. The hardware had been seized by law enforcement back in 2015 during a homicide investigation.

The judge concluded that the prosecution failed to provide convincing evidence linking the digital assets on the device to the committed crime. The defense successfully proved the absence of any criminal origin of the cryptocurrency, establishing an important judicial precedent for protecting property rights over digital assets.

Ukraine advances market legalization

The Tax Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recommended the draft law on virtual asset regulation for a first reading. The document defines the legal status of cryptocurrencies and outlines clear taxation rules for both individuals and corporate entities.

According to the proposals, the tax rate on income from crypto-asset transactions for an adjustment period could be set at 5% for individuals. If you work in the Web3 space in Ukraine, the passage of this bill is a critical step toward bringing the sector out of the shadows, attracting investment, and establishing clear operational rules.

THORChain halts operations across 10 networks

Cross-chain protocol THORChain was forced to temporarily suspend transaction processing across 10 blockchain networks following a technical glitch caused by a single block reorganization on Ethereum. The incident resulted in an erroneous payout of 10 ETH from the project's system reserves.

The system recorded a deposit that ultimately failed to enter the canonical Ethereum chain, automatically returning funds to the user. Although the assets were later voluntarily returned to the project, the THORChain team paused operations to implement architectural fixes and prevent similar replay attacks in the future.

JPMorgan evaluates Bitcoin's potential

JPMorgan Asset Management officially included Bitcoin in its long-term capital market return assumptions model for 2027 for the first time. Experts estimated the primary cryptocurrency's compound annual return at 10% over the coming decade.

Bank analysts expect high annualized volatility at 55% to persist, yet they highlight a moderate 33% correlation with traditional US equities. This makes Bitcoin an appealing tool for diversifying large institutional portfolios.

Kursoff's Take

The current market correction represents a natural flush of excessive speculative leverage ahead of the next growth phase. You should shift your focus away from short-term price fluctuations toward fundamental drivers: institutional adoption, reserve transparency, and the creation of clear regulatory frameworks.