The cryptocurrency market staged a mild but notable recovery in the early hours of Monday, after a turbulent week, with Bitcoin climbing back above $87,000 as investor sentiment improved following dovish signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
John Williams, president and chief executive officer of the New York Fed, hinted at the possibility of a rate cut, while Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson expressed optimism about the AI-driven outlook for the U.S. economy, comments that helped ease macroeconomic anxiety across financial markets.
Bitcoin’s rebound comes after it briefly dipped toward the $80,000 mark, deepening a month-long decline that has now shaved 23 percent off its value.
Despite the bounce, analysts warn that market conditions remain fragile, with volatility, funding, and positioning metrics reflecting the type of stress typically observed near major turning points.
Research firm 10x Research noted that derivatives markets show traders aggressively pricing in risk, highlighting a tug-of-war between panic sellers and opportunistic buyers.
Sector performance was mixed but leaned positive. PayFi led gains with a 2.44 percent rise, while tokens such as TEL and XLM rallied more than five percent. RWA, DeFi, Meme, and Layer 1 sectors also posted modest upward movement.
Read also: Crypto stabilises after $1tn rout as Layer-2 tokens lead tentative rebound
However, CeFi and Layer 2 assets showed slight declines, underscoring the unevenness of the broader recovery.
But the deeper story of the day comes from the institutional front. The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs recorded a dramatic surge in trading activity last week, with cumulative volumes surpassing $40.32 billion, an all-time high that analysts say signals institutional capitulation.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) dominated the flow, accounting for nearly 70 percent of total volume at $27.79 billion. On Friday alone, ETF volumes topped $11.01 billion, with IBIT responsible for $8 billion of that figure.
Yet despite the record activity, the direction of flows tells a harsher story. Bitcoin ETFs have processed $3.55 billion in redemptions this month, pushing most holders underwater, as the weighted-average entry price for ETF investors now sits above $90,000.
From November 17 to 21 alone, bitcoin spot ETFs saw $1.22 billion in net outflows, extending a four-week streak of withdrawals. Ethereum ETFs also recorded $500 million in exits during the same period, while Solana continued to buck the trend with $128 million in inflows.
The on-chain landscape was no less dramatic. High-value whale transactions stirred volatility across major altcoins, particularly Ethereum, Solana, and 1inch.
Tom Lee’s Bitmine fund continued its aggressive ETH accumulation, purchasing 28,625 ETH worth $82.11 million in its latest move, just days after acquiring 21,537 ETH valued at $59.17 million. The rapid-fire buys have pushed the fund’s total accumulation above 50,000 ETH within a short window, reinforcing expectations of institutional conviction in Ethereum’s long-term trajectory.
Meanwhile, Solana-based meme coin platform Pump.fun triggered alarm after cashing out a staggering $436.5 million USDC since mid-October. Over the past week alone, the team moved 405 million USDC into Kraken while simultaneously transferring 466 million USDC from Kraken to Circle. The project’s native token has slumped 24 percent in one week amid investor anxiety.
In another major whale action, the 1inch team fund withdrew 33.574 million 1INCH tokens, valued at $6.15 million, from Binance after weeks of accumulation following the early November market drop.
While Monday’s market rebound reflects renewed optimism, the combination of record ETF outflows, whale-driven volatility, and macroeconomic uncertainty suggests the crypto market is stabilizing, but far from settled.
