October’s $19 billion crypto liquidation upends bitcoin’s 2025 year‑end rally

Expectations that ETF inflows, new digital asset treasuries (DATs), and bitcoin’s strong historical year‑end seasonality would push prices higher collapsed into a sharp drawdown after a massive October sell‑off. A $19 billion liquidation cascade on Oct. 10 knocked liquidity and confidence out of the market, sending bitcoin from about $122,500 to $107,000 in hours and sparking far larger percentage losses across altcoins.

Since the start of October, bitcoin is down 23%. DATs, hastily formed companies that aimed to replicate large corporate bitcoin treasuries, have shifted from being perceived structural buyers to potential forced sellers. Many DAT stocks fell below net asset value, curbing their ability to raise capital.

Some have moved to repurchasing shares instead of buying crypto—the example cited is KindlyMD (NAKA), whose shares tumbled so far that its bitcoin holdings exceed the company’s enterprise value. Spot altcoin ETFs attracted meaningful inflows—Solana vehicles gathered about $900 million and XRP funds surpassed $1 billion—but that demand did not arrest token price declines.

SOL has fallen roughly 35% since its ETF debut and XRP about 20%, while smaller‑cap altcoin ETFs saw negligible interest as risk appetite faded. Historical seasonality also failed to materialize.

Key Topics

Crypto, United States, Bitcoin, Etfs, Digital Asset Treasuries, Liquidity, Markets