The euphoria that the community brought with expectations about the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025 has evaporated, leaving a trail of massive liquidations and psychological pain that spreads through the bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ecosystem. Altcoins, in particular, are bleeding mercilessly — with 90 of the top 100 falling by over 10% in the last week — as bitcoiners show their faith remains unquestioned. Many in the community, from the so-called degens or degenerates, even HODLers, surrender to winter. On social networks there is a collective cry of resignation. It’s not just money lost; It is the capitulation of vital dreams, of young people who bet their savings on a «to the moon» that never came, at least not on the date they expected for this season. Content creator Quinten François, co-founder of the Web3 WeRate review platform, captured the sentiment in an October 16, 2025 message that resonates as prophecy today. He wrote “what a beautiful cycle. Months of boredom. Three days of euphoria. Followed by the highest liquidation. And then, back to depression and misery. “Fundamentally, cryptocurrencies are a toxic relationship that we always come back to.” Now, in a post from November 21, 2025, François claims to have a worse feeling than during the FTX collapse and the COVID crisis. «Yes, we can go lower, no one knows where the exact bottom is. But in a couple of years you will dream of buying at these prices,» he pointed out. His words reflect the emotional exhaustion of a community trapped in a cycle of multiple price dropsbut aware that it will take time before prices can meet expectations. Meanwhile, on the bitcoin community’s side, optimism does not disappear. That is what the user of X, pseudonym degengambleh, says. He calls for survival, although his tone reveals trauma when he points out: “It’s not about bulls or bears anymore. The structure of BTC is broken: clear and undeniable damage. Maybe it’s a little deeper. Maybe not. But the work is the same: buy what you can. Keep what you have. Sell during the inevitable 108–110k bounce. Get through this phase with clarity, not emotion. «You’ll have plenty of time to assess the wounds later.»
Alistair Milne, a renowned bitcoin investor, believes that the current crisis will pass soon as it did with others in the past. Source: X/AlistairMilne. These messages that seem like screams are not isolated. Similar comments are flooding social media right now, reminding us the psychological impact of an asset that many consider their refuge ultimate: your ticket to financial freedom and, for some, the only real hope of getting ahead. When bitcoin retraces strongly, not only do numbers move on a graph, internal narratives are also broken. Old fears are activated and the doubt reappears as to whether this time is really different or whether they will return to the eternal cycle of euphoria and panic.
Giants look at the same abyss, but they see different things
While the retail base bleeds, the most relevant voices in the community offer perspectives that, although mostly bullish, do not hide the rigor of the cycle. Their messages underscore the validity of the 4-year framework. They also speak of a bear season that purges weak hands before being reborn. Amid the chaos, Adam Livingston released a tongue-in-cheek video he introduced with the title “why you should sell all your bitcoin.” In a sarcastic tone, the creator invites bears and tourists to sell him their BTC while mocking those who panic because the price fell below 90,000 dollars. And extreme fear takes over the market, as BitcoinDynamic reported earlier. «If a red candle is an existential crisis for you, this is your exit interview,» he said. «The true conviction remains,» he insisted. Its message, raw and direct, becomes a reminder that the bear market does not forgive and today suddenly separates the convinced from the tourists.
Livingston says that true conviction remains and emotional turbulence is cleared. Source: X/AdamBliv. Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3 and unwavering BTC maximalist, sees the crash as a trap for speculators.
According to some sources, the recent sell-off is coming from relatively new buyers. They bought bitcoin in the last 12-18 months (both spot and ETF) and are making 20% to 30% gains in fiat currency. The reason? They read news about the peak of this cycle in 2025, so they want to get out before it’s too late. Furthermore, they are concerned about the sale of bitcoin by the original investors, so they also decided to sell. These are not early bitcoin buyers, but rather speculators following the news. Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3.
Mow insists that there is insatiable demand for bitcoin when he notes that “a lot of people are pessimistic now, but this is not the time to be. There is a large group of price-insensitive buyers with virtually unlimited capital. “It’s not just about treasury companies like Strategy.” Meanwhile, trader Peter Brandt sees the beginning of the bearish cycle, although he appears bullish: «does a strong reversal on November 11, 8 days in a row of increasingly lower highs and a gigantic expansion ceiling already count as a bear market? Pattern targets: 81,000 and 58,000. Those who now swear that “they are going to buy everything at 58,000” will bitterly regret it when bitcoin reaches 60,000 and does not go down any further. Today, in the midst of the fall, Brandt maintains: «To be clear, friends, of my maximum investment in bitcoin, I still keep 40%, at a price that is 1/20 of Saylor’s average purchase price. I am a long-term bull on bitcoin. This fall is the best thing that could happen to bitcoin. The next bitcoin bull market should take us to around $200,000. “That should happen around the third quarter of 2029.”
