The decline in Bitcoin intensified at the start of the week: on Monday, prices fell by more than 6%, continuing the retreat that began in early October, resulting in a loss of about 37% from the peak.

The latest wave of declines pushed the cryptocurrency below $$85 ,000, and although the recent low near $$81 ,000 held, Tom Essaye of Sevens Report warns that a break below this level would trigger “further technical selling.”
Essaye notes that there was no single catalyst behind Monday’s drop. “This decline remains a general issue, not a specific one,” he said on Tuesday.

However, one factor did add extra pressure. Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, the largest public holder of Bitcoin, admitted that the company might sell some of its assets as a last resort.

Since it effectively operates as a Bitcoin treasury firm, the idea of potential sales has become a “gradual short-term negative” for sentiment. Beyond that, Essaye argues that the decline is driven by the same forces that have shaped past Bitcoin bear markets.

Despite its growing adoption, Bitcoin remains a “hyper-volatile, speculative asset,” he said, and its appeal is still largely based on the expectation that “someone will pay more for it tomorrow than today.”

This fundamentally distinguishes it from stocks or commodities, which are based on earnings or real demand.

At the same time, Essaye acknowledges that real use cases for Bitcoin have expanded. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is increasingly appearing on corporate and sovereign balance sheets, being used in more legitimate financial transactions, and spot Bitcoin ｛｛glossary｝｝ETF｛｛/glossary｝｝s have created a steady source of long-term demand.
Nevertheless, all spot ｛｛glossary｝｝ETF｛｛/glossary｝｝s combined still account for only about 6% of total supply, serving as a reminder that fundamental demand remains small compared to the overall volume.

Essaye argues that the current pullback reflects a market that has gotten ahead of itself. While Bitcoin is maturing, it continues to move in line with broader risk appetite—rising ahead during bull markets and falling harder when the “risk asset wave” recedes.

The analyst adds that Bitcoin’s weakness shouldn’t automatically be seen as a warning signal for equities, though a deeper drop may warrant greater attention.

Bitcoin is not a leading indicator, but it is closely tied to speculative money flows, which typically retreat from cryptocurrencies before moving away from stocks.

“A prolonged drop in Bitcoin could be an early warning of a broader decline in the liquidity wave. As such, we will continue to closely monitor Bitcoin for any signs of intensifying selling,” Essaye concluded.