European Selling Drives Bitcoin’s November Slump

Bitcoin has settled back above $90,000 after one of its weakest Novembers since 2018. However, new data shows that the massive selling pressure came almost exclusively from Europe, while markets in the US and Asia remained comparatively stable. This raises important questions for investors regarding market structure, liquidity, and regional capital flows.

Europe dominates the sell-off – data shows clear patterns

According to recent time-zone-based analysis from Presto Research, European trading hours were responsible for the majority of the 20–25% drawdowns in BTC and ETH. While Ether lost around 22.7% in November, average returns remained virtually unchanged during the US and Asian sessions.

This suggests that European investors, in particular, were taking a risk-reducing approach – possibly driven by macroeconomic uncertainty, year-end tax planning, or liquidity constraints.

Broad market stabilizes – despite thin liquidity

On Tuesday, Bitcoin was trading at around $90,400, a slight increase of 1%. ETH gained marginally, while SOL (-0.6%) and XRP trended slightly lower. However, the recent recovery remains fragile: liquidity is extremely thin ahead of Wednesday’s Fed decision, which could lead to more pronounced swings in the short term.

Strategy is buying Bitcoin again in large quantities – despite index risks

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) also made headlines:
The company purchased 10,624 BTC for $963 million – its largest acquisition in three months. This was financed primarily through new share issuances.

The company now holds approximately 660,600 BTC, currently worth more than $60 billion. Nevertheless, the stock remains under pressure: Investors fear that the company could be removed from key MSCI indices.

Macroeconomics remain crucial – sentiment is extremely fragile

Global sentiment is tense. Asian stocks slid ahead of the expected Fed interest rate decision, and bond yields remain high – a challenging environment for risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index fell to 0 points for the first time since January 2022: a clear indication that on-chain indicators are currently entirely bearish as long as no fresh liquidity flows into the market.

Outlook: Will there be a year-end rally – or will Europe continue to exert downward pressure?
In the medium term, there are potential catalysts, including possible US rule changes for 401(k) retirement plans in 2026, which could open Bitcoin to trillions of dollars in retirement savings.

In the short term, however, the market remains in a bind:
Bitcoin is stuck at $90,300, while traders closely watch to see if it can make a run at the $94,000 to $98,000 zone – or if European trading hours will continue to put a ceiling on it.

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(Featured image by Jakub Żerdzicki via Unsplash)

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