Bitcoin has crashed from an all-time high near $125,000 in October to approximately $93,000, wiping out its 2025 gains and triggering over $500 million in liquidations across the market. The Fear and Greed Index plummeted to 22, signaling extreme fear among investors, with analysts divided on whether this is a healthy pullback or the start of a bear phase.
Despite the downturn, institutional participation remains robust. Harvard Management Company tripled its stake in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), now holding 6.8 million shares worth over $442.8 million, up from $116 million earlier this year. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas noted that this endorsement validates the ETF, potentially influencing market sentiment.
Concurrently, the Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) presale has raised more than $27.79 million, with tokens priced at $0.013285 each. The project, a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution, uses a Solana-style execution layer and a canonical Bitcoin bridge to enable fast, low-fee transactions and smart contracts, aiming to scale Bitcoin's utility beyond its base layer limitations.