Now That BTC is Confronting a Genuine Challenge, What’s the Next Major Development?

Bitcoin USD dipped to $93,029 over the weekend, wiping out all this year’s gains and pulling the trading market back to its January 1 position. Hip hip hooray for Donald Trump, the “Crypto President!”

In other announcement, it has recently come to light that prominent Bitcoin developers such as Jeremy Rubin were conversing with notorious pedophile and political blackmailer Jeffrey Epstein. What’s happening here?

Even the slight rebound on Monday into the mid-$95,000s didn’t provide much stability for BTC; everything. This was not the promising year for traders.

Trump had vowed for a crypto-friendly rebirth, a national Bitcoin USD reserve, and, naturally, companies incorporating BTC on their balance sheets. Instead, the environment has been fragmented by tariff disputes, a 43-day government closure, and multiple severe downturns threatening a MicroStrategy death spiral.

So, what lies ahead for Bitcoin USD?

Bitcoin USD Whale Selling Meets Macro Headwinds, What’s Next?

Analysts at 99Bitcoins have highlighted substantial profit-taking by early Bitcoin holders as a factor stifling momentum. Analysis by Capriole Investments indicates activity from wallets not touched in over seven years, with numerous transfers in the $100 Mn to $500 Mn range emerging from pre-2018 addresses.

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This trend alarmed traders who interpreted these actions as evidence that early holders were liquidating their positions.

BREAKING

A large holder is currently shorting $BTC.

Position Size: $143.6 Million
Liquidation Price: $98,347 pic.twitter.com/GHu7ruq3fB

— Max Crypto (@MaxCrypto) November 15, 2025

Altcoins are faring even worse. Ethereum and Solana have decreased by 7.9 percent and 28.3 percent, respectively, since the year began.

A review of major analytics dashboards reveals a similar narrative:

• CoinGecko: BTC down 25 percent from ATH
• Glassnode: Long-term holder distribution increasing, but remaining within historical averages
• FRED: 10-year yields stay high, exerting pressure on risk assets
• Crypto Fear & Greed Index: Back in extreme fear levels

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Is a 2026 Surge on the Horizon?

Despite the chaos, institutional inflows into spot BTC ETFs continue to be positive monthly, suggesting that traditional investors are not rejecting the Q4/2026 bull market outlook.

The main conversation now is whether the four-year BTC cycle is still relevant in the age of ETFs, corporate treasuries, and clear regulations. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes the cycle still applies but has shifted in timing.

“I think the fundamental aspects are extremely solid,” Hougan remarked. “Stablecoins, tokenization, institutional investment… these factors are too significant to be suppressed.”

Hougan predicts that the genuine upward movement will occur in 2026, not in 2025, as the anticipated rally for late-2025 did not happen.

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Meanwhile, Zcash Makes a Stand: Is ZEC The Top Altcoin This Q4?

As Bitcoin faltered, ZEC has been one of the few assets gaining traction. ZEC has surged 21 percent in the past week and is positioned as one of the top-performing coins of 2025, bolstered by Winklevoss-backed Cypherpunk Technologies starting to aggressively accumulate supply.

ZEC has numerous favorable factors and is expected to be one of the standout altcoins in Q4:

• Minor resistance: $688
• Key upward movement level: $748

A daily close above $748 could propel Zcash towards $1,010, then $1,332, aligning with Fibonacci extensions and its three-month trend, showing an increase of over 250 percent.

Bitcoin will rebound. However, the irrationality among altcoins has caught up, explaining the current crypto market struggles.

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The post Now That BTC is Facing a Real Test, What’s The Next Big Thing? appeared first on 99Bitcoins.