Bitcoin Crash Exposed: Analyst Points to TradFi Sell-Off

Forced Wall Street sell-offs, not retail panic, rocked Bitcoin. See why analysts say ETFs played a surprising role.

WallStreetBets characted showing empty pockets in a trash centre. Behind him in the background there is a suitcase full of gold.
Created by Kornelija Poderskytė from DailyCoin

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sharp decline on February 5, sending ripples through global crypto markets.

The world’s largest digital asset briefly dipped below $61,000 during intense selling pressure, part of a broader slide that erased more than half its value from an all-time high above $126,000 reached in October 2025. 

Nors daug kas speliojo, kokie underlying fundamental issues si karta sukrete rinka, patyre analitikai attribute the sharp Bitcoin selloff to technical market factors.

Jeff Park, CIO at ProCap and advisor at Bitwise Invest, wrote in his X thread that the sell-off was largely driven by forced deleveraging in traditional finance portfolios, rather than large-scale selling by crypto-native investors.

According to him, the sell-off unfolded during a period of unusually tight correlation between Bitcoin and broader risk assets, particularly software stocks.

Multi-strategy funds took the hardest hit, with February 4 marking an unusually severe market shock. The day’s moves were so extreme that they registered a z-score of 3.5, an event that happens in just 0.05% of trading days.

The forced de-risking and rapid unwinding of positions by these funds spilled into February 5, driving even greater volatility across both crypto and traditional markets.

BlackRock’s IBIT ETF saw record trading volume of over $10 billion, double its previous high, while options activity surged to historic levels, unusually dominated by puts, indicating an intense downside pressure.

Massive volume spike in IBIT options. Source: X

Yet despite a 13.2% drop in IBIT’s price, investors did not redeem shares as might have been expected. Instead, 6 million new shares were created, adding more than $230 million in assets under management, while the wider ETF complex drew in over $300 million in inflows. 

According to Park, the pattern suggests the sell-off was largely driven by dealers and market makers rather than retail panic.

As of February 9, Bitcoin was trading around $70,500, up modestly in recent sessions but still well below earlier highs, reflecting ongoing volatility in the market.

Why This Matters

The crash highlights how closely Bitcoin is now linked to Wall Street, where shocks in traditional finance can ripple through the crypto market.

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People Also Ask:

What is TradFi deleveraging?

TradFi (traditional finance) deleveraging occurs when banks, funds, or other financial institutions reduce risk by selling assets to lower exposure, often causing price drops in correlated markets.

How do ETFs influence Bitcoin prices?

Bitcoin ETFs allow institutional and retail investors to trade Bitcoin indirectly. Large ETF creations or redemptions can push Bitcoin’s price up or down due to supply and demand dynamics.

Why don’t Bitcoin price drops always trigger ETF redemptions?

ETF flows depend on investor behavior. Sometimes, price drops are driven by hedged dealer activity rather than retail panic, resulting in net creations instead of redemptions.

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This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Simona Ram

Simona Ram is the senior journalist at DailyCoin, focusing on in-depth investigations of the cryptocurrency sector. Simona has minor holdings in Bitcoin.

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