Weekly Update: 21st of November
What happened between the 14th and 21st of November?
- Crypto markets extended their drawdown as Bitcoin dropped to a low of $82,000, altcoins underperformed and spot crypto ETFs recorded roughly $3 billion in net outflows. Read more
- Large strategic buyers including Strategy, El Salvador and Ark Invest accumulated Bitcoin and crypto equities, absorbing liquidity while retail investors sold into the market weakness. Read more
- Solana ETFs posted around two weeks of uninterrupted inflows, even as Bitcoin and Ethereum products saw outflows and SOL modestly outperformed Bitcoin midweek. Read more
- BNY launches a regulated Stablecoin Reserves Fund investing in Treasuries, providing transparent, highly liquid reserve management infrastructure for institutional stablecoin issuers. Read more
Crypto market extends sell-off amid heavy ETF outflows
The digital asset market delivered another weak week. Bitcoin briefly traded around $82,000, effectively erasing its year-to-date gains and extending the 35% drawdown from October’s all-time high above $125,000. Across the broader market, roughly $1.4 trillion in value has evaporated over six weeks as risk appetite fades and hopes for rapid Federal Reserve rate cuts diminish.
A large part of the recent correction has been initially driven by long-term holders realizing profits after the strong rally earlier this year. At the same time, an additional $3 billion flowed out of spot crypto ETFs last week, with several major Bitcoin funds seeing record outflows. For many altcoins, the decline has been even steeper, although selling pressure appears to be slowing. As a result, a select group of altcoins started to show tentative relative strength in the final days of the week.
Large buyers accumulate Bitcoin as retail capitulates
Against this bearish backdrop, large strategic buyers stepped back into the Bitcoin market. Strategy, the former MicroStrategy led by Michael Saylor, purchased 8,178 BTC between 10 and 16 November at an average price just above $102,000, deploying roughly $835 million and lifting its corporate treasury to almost 650,000 BTC. In parallel, El Salvador announced an additional Bitcoin purchase of around $100 million, adding more than 1,000 BTC and taking sovereign holdings to roughly 7,500 coins.
On-chain metrics point to renewed accumulation by large wallets, even as exchange balances rise on the back of retail selling and sizeable outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs. Ark Invest continued to build exposure to the ecosystem by increasing positions in listed crypto companies, including Coinbase, Circle and Bullish. For institutional investors, the pattern underscores how long-horizon players systematically use deep pullbacks to add to core Bitcoin exposure.
Solana ETFs attract flows and outperform in choppy market
Solana continued to attract institutional attention through its expanding suite of spot ETFs. Since their late-October debut, Solana investment products have logged roughly two weeks of uninterrupted net inflows, accumulating close to $400 million in new assets. New launches from issuers such as Bitwise, Fidelity and Canary broadened the menu for allocators seeking high-beta smart-contract exposure in a regulated wrapper.
Notably, these inflows persisted even as spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs registered renewed outflows amid the broader market correction. Price action in SOL remained volatile, but after an earlier pullback the token outperformed Bitcoin by roughly 10% between Tuesday and Thursday, rebounding toward the $140 level.
BNY launches stablecoin reserve fund for institutions
BNY, the world’s largest custody bank, advanced its digital-asset strategy with the launch of the BNY Dreyfus Stablecoin Reserves Fund. The US government money market fund is explicitly designed to hold cash reserves for approved dollar stablecoin issuers under the new GENIUS Act framework. Its mandate is conservative: the portfolio invests exclusively in short-dated Treasuries, repos and cash, and does not hold stablecoins themselves.
For issuers and institutional clients, the structure offers a clearly segregated, regulated vehicle for backing stablecoins with daily liquidity, transparent reporting and established risk controls. BNY is positioning for a potential US stablecoin market of around $1.5 trillion over the coming years.
In other digital assets news
- BlackRock took its first formal step toward a Staked Ether ETF by filing a new trust, signalling growing institutional demand for staking exposure.
- Cboe launched continuous Bitcoin and Ether futures as a regulated alternative to perpetual contracts, directly challenging dominant offshore crypto derivatives venues.
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