The new crypto winter has caught the market off guard— even the most confident investors are left bewildered.

Cryptocurrency market experiences worst week in three years

Over the past seven days, Bitcoin fell almost 16%, reaching $70,008 and losing more than one and a half dozen percent from October's record of $126,273.

Ethereum dropped 24% to $2,052, retreating about 59% from its all‑time high.

Despite a sudden price spike on Friday, the overall weekly trend turned out to be highly negative. As *The Wall Street Journal* notes, even the most influential cryptocurrency advocates cannot agree on the reason for such a decline.

What happened before
In past periods investors quickly identified the source of the crisis:

* 2018 – the “ICO bubble” tore up the market.
* 2022 – the FTX collapse, triggered by the fall of TerraUSD and Luna, led to a $40 billion loss.

In the current situation Michael Novogratz (head of Galaxy Digital) highlighted the lack of a clear cause or trigger for the sell‑off.

Popular theories on why it fell
1. Shift in trader interests

Anthony Pompliano from ProCap Financial notes that market participants have shifted to alternative assets related to artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML).

2. U.S. monetary policy

Kevin Warsh – Trump’s candidate for Fed Chair, known as a proponent of tight monetary policy and dollar strengthening. The market views him as a pressure factor on cryptocurrencies.

3. Regulatory delays

Uncertainty around the *Clarity Act* (Digital Asset Market Transparency Act) in Congress, as well as disagreements between crypto exchanges and traditional banks, have slowed the regulatory process.

Possible recovery
Analysts believe the market could recover faster than past crises:

* Jasper De Maere (Wintermute) points to a strong cryptocurrency infrastructure and the absence of high‑profile bankruptcies.
* Stablecoins continue to expand their popularity, and institutional interest has not disappeared – it has merely retreated temporarily.

Meanwhile Michael Saylor, owner of Strategy, announced a quarterly loss of $12 billion due to Bitcoin’s depreciation. At an investor meeting he urged looking at a planning horizon of at least four years, emphasizing the long‑term potential of digital assets.

Conclusion:

The week ended with a sharp drop in major cryptocurrencies, but the reasons remain unclear and are debated along several lines. Meanwhile experts see prospects for rapid recovery thanks to resilient infrastructure and ongoing institutional interest.