The crypto market may appear calm at the moment, but appearances can be deceiving. Data suggests the final months of the year could still bring excitement. Additionally, more information is emerging about the recent crypto crash. According to Presto Research, one continent played the leading role in the crypto market bloodbath.
European Pressure on Bitcoin Price #
While markets in Asia and the US moved mostly sideways, Europe clearly stood out. Detailed timezone data reveals that European traders played a significant role in the price declines of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Where American and Asian sessions remained largely flat, European hours were almost consistently red. Presto Research, which split trading activity by region, saw average returns during European sessions become ‘deeply negative’. The company shared an extensive analysis and chart on X:
By some measures crypto had its worst November since 2018 last month. Which timezone dominated the selling?
Answer: Europe 🇪🇺
In fact, when looking at $ETH which was down -22.73% last month, returns during the Asia and US sessions were flat on average.
Selling Waves in the European Region #
This difference between regions is unusual. Typically, major markets move in roughly the same rhythm, especially when volatility increases. But this time, Europe moved completely out of step. Traders who normally focus on liquidity around market openings and closings saw something special happen during European time. Repeatedly, new waves of selling came in during late morning and early afternoon.
Why Europe sold so much isn’t entirely clear yet. Macroeconomic concerns may have played a role. Consider, for example, the ongoing pressure on European bond markets and fears that central banks will remain stricter than expected. Some crypto investors suspect that large traders are reducing their positions to scale back risks toward the end of the year.
Selling Pressure from Long-Term Holders #
Besides the European selling wave, the behavior of specific groups also played a major role in the price dip. Institutional parties remained remarkably quiet during the correction period and barely bought any dips. This left the crypto market without solid buyers.
At the same time, long-term holders distanced themselves from part of their supply. These are investors who hold their Bitcoin for at least 155 days. This group reduced their holdings from about 14.7 to approximately 14.3 million BTC since the summer. By late November, that point seemed reached, after which selling pressure decreased and Bitcoin found room to recover.
Whether the selling pressure from Europe has decreased in December is not shown in the report. If Bitcoin wants to find its way up again, the European buyer will also need to return to the market.