# Crypto Market Slides Into "Extreme Fear" – What's Happening?

The crypto market turned south on Friday (Nov 21), with the Fear & Greed Index plunging to **11** – the lowest since late 2022. That's full-blown panic mode.

**Price action wasn't pretty:**
- Bitcoin dropped 2.4% to $84,479, trading between $82,623–$85,341
- Ethereum fell 3.8% to $2,736, bouncing off $2,685
- Solana got hit hardest among majors, sliding 4.8% to $127
- XRP shed 3.3% to $1.94

**On-chain signals suggest shift:**

Bitcoin futures open interest dipped 0.98% ($58.67B), while Ether's dropped 2.5% ($32.39B) – traders unwinding leverage. The RSI for BTC is at 31.32, flirting with oversold territory, which historically precedes bounces or consolidation.

Interestingly, liquidations flipped: Bitcoin saw $30.48M in shorts liquidated, Ether $32.43M – mostly shorts getting cleaned out. Recent days saw the opposite (long liquidations), so sentiment's been reshuffling.

**Staking & custody heating up despite the dip:**

Anchorage Digital (US's only federally chartered crypto bank) just expanded institutional custody for HYPE tokens on Hyperliquid. Meanwhile, Coinbase launched Ether-backed USDC loans (up to $1M collateral) for US users, letting you tap liquidity without selling your ETH.

**Wild card:** BitMine just posted $328.2M net income for 2025 and announced plans for an "American-made" Ethereum staking network launching early 2026 – their first dividend too ($0.01/share).

**The vibe?** Panic's real, but whale moves and institutional expansion suggest big players aren't panicking. Oversold BTC + shorts getting rekt = setup for either a relief rally or deeper pain. Watch that $82.6K support.