Crypto Market Sparks Fresh Accusations of Cartel Manipulation

In Brief

• Analysts are alarmed by Bitcoin’s unexplained crash from $106,000 to $85,000, sparking new claims of market manipulation.
• Some traders believe coordinated whale activity could be intensifying selling pressure.
• Analysts suggest Bitcoin may next test a major liquidity zone that could determine its next move.

Shedrach Kongvong 2025-11-21

The crypto market’s latest crash has stunned analysts, not because Bitcoin is falling, but because no one can explain why. With BTC dropping from $106,000 to the mid $80,000s in just ten days and no major negative catalyst in sight, traders now believe the downturn may be driven by coordinated forces.

Bitcoin has dropped from $106k to $85k in 10 days without any major negative news. According to this analyst, such a situation suggests a clear cartel manipulation.

Cartels have liquidated almost every Bitcoin long. There's literally no liquidity cluster below at this moment.

From a volume and liquidation perspective, this looks like a final capitulation. pic.twitter.com/vek1XS58oF

— Ash Crypto (@AshCrypto) November 21, 2025

Is Coordinated Whale Activity Behind the Latest Crypto Crash?

The crypto market’s ongoing crash has entered a phase that many analysts are calling “structurally abnormal.” This has led some market watchers to suspect coordinated manipulation, or at least unusually synchronized large-wallet activity, as Bitcoin’s sharp, consistent decline defies typical volatility patterns.

One analyst notes that such rapid multi-day selloffs with no dominant headline catalyst are historically rare outside of periods involving swaps desk imbalances, forced liquidations, or large entities redistributing supply. This started with the massive crash following the Trump tariff announcement in October that crashed Bitcoin from $126,000 to $112,000 within hours.

At the time, leading crypto exchange Binance was accused of manipulating the market and giving investors handouts as compensation.

While there is no confirmed evidence of a “cartel,” analysts agree that the current structure resembles prior events where whale-dominated moves created artificial downward pressure before liquidity normalized.

🚨$1 BILLION worth of crypto longs were liquidated in the last 60 minutes.

People call it volatility
But this kind of move is pure manipulation by the big players

And this is exactly why I always advise people to avoid trading leverage.

You’re not competing with retail

You’re… pic.twitter.com/Nxls5yxBdD

— Evan Luthra (@EvanLuthra) November 21, 2025

When Could Bitcoin Finally Bottom Out. And What Signals to Watch

One analyst identifies $76,000 as the next major liquidity cluster. This level contains a dense concentration of historical accumulation activity. meaning it’s a price at which many Bitcoin holders have accumulated, often acting as a magnet during corrections.

If BTC rebounds at $76,000, analysts say it could form a mid-cycle base for a broader recovery. This would mirror previous cycle corrections where strong liquidity pockets stopped the bleeding long before macro sentiment improved.

However, if Bitcoin fails to defend the $76,000 region, the market may face a deeper structural decline. On-chain heatmaps show very little dense accumulation below this level until significantly lower zones, suggesting the bottom might not be close, and volatility could increase sharply.