London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Why are Bitcoin and other cryptos nursing losses after hitting highs?

Why are Bitcoin and other cryptos nursing losses after hitting highs?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have fallen sharply after seeing record-highs just last week.

Bitcoin’s price plunged to $58,400 (€51,000) on Tuesday and hovered just under the $60,000 (€53,000) threshold on Wednesday as the crypto market is again becoming a sea of red.

It marks a 12 per cent drop from the record high of $69,000 (€61,000) set on November 10.

The second-largest crypto Ether meanwhile plunged more than 14 per cent since its record last week to reach $4,244 (€3,7500).

The reasons why cryptos have been so volatile of late is unclear but there are a number of factors at play.

One reason may be due to market manipulation, argues David Gerard, the author of the book Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain. And it is all to do with Tether, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency whose tokens are backed by an equivalent amount of US dollars.

Tether pumping up prices


"Tethers are supposed to be all backed by dollars. There's a lot of reasons like settlements with the authorities that suggest this has not been the case in the past, and we shouldn't presume it's the case now," Gerard told Euronews Next.

"So it looks like three billion Tethers, backed by nothing, were used to pump the Bitcoin price up at this particular time.

The reasons why cryptos have been so volatile of late is unclear but there are a number of factors at play.


"When they stopped, the Bitcoin price dropped. That's basically the story of the shenanigans that went on in the last week or two".

Gerard argues this kind of market manipulation and fake liquidity happens all the time.

"The basic thing that happened was the Bitcoin price, we know it's highly manipulated because this is an unregulated pool for sharks," he said.

"I think some fake liquidity was deployed. About $3 billion (€2.6 million) worth of questionable liquidity was deployed, which was used to pump the price up.

"That's the sort of manipulation that goes on in the Bitcoin markets all the time," Gerard added.

"Normal people look at this stuff (the crypto market) and think, 'Oh, that's a good market,' but they're the meat, they're the suckers, and the money comes from.

"This is a big boys game. And you'd better be prepared to be eaten alive," Gerard warned.

Stockpiling Bitcoin


The other reason for the crypto price slide is the continued fallout from China’s crackdown on Bitcoin mining, which led to an exodus of miners to the US and Canada.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission said on Tuesday it would continue to regulate crypto mining due to concerns over the amount of energy being used.

Gerard points out it is not just because of mining regulation that crypto prices have slumped. He argues those exiled miners have a billion dollars of Bitcoins that they are keeping as stockpiles and not selling them.

Gerard argues exiled miners have a billion dollars of Bitcoins that they are keeping as stockpiles and not selling them.


"No one can really account for this because Bitcoin miners have never behaved like that, except when they can't sell the coins because there aren't enough people with dollars to buy them.

"I think what's happening there is that all the dumb retail dollars have gone home and the markets are very thin at the moment, and that's why they're having to inflate them in artificial ways," said Gerard.

Cryptos may also have been affected by comments by Twitter’s Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal on Monday. He said investing in crypto “does not make sense right now”.

"We (would) have to change our investment policy and choose to own assets that are more volatile," Segal said.

But the hype around cryptocurrencies and blockchain has not dwindled. On Tuesday, the Staples Center in Los Angeles said it would be renamed the Crypto.com Arena, making it reportedly one of the biggest naming rights deals in history.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×