Despite the $1-billion liquidation wave that dragged Bitcoin under $90,000 for the first time in seven months on November 18, Indian exchanges reported a surge in buying as investors stepped in to capitalise on the correction.
Users were buying the dip, exchanges said. Among the top exchanges, Bitcoin accounted for nearly 40 percent of CoinSwitch’s retail spot trading volumes on November 18, even as the token’s price continued to trade in red.
Giottus saw its ‘big buyers’ on the platform or investors holding over Rs 5 lakh in BTC increase their holdings by 15-20 percent, while overall buy orders across investor categories went up by 10 percent.
CoinDCX continued to see steady spot-trading activities on the platform, with daily trading volumes in the range of $10 million to $23 million, as traders used the market correction as an opportunity to rebalance their portfolios, book profits and buy more.
What exchanges said
Industry experts and exchange founders weren’t too worried about the 30 percent crash of Bitcoin from its peak that wiped off all the gains the token made in 2025. Their reason: it is a short-term bull market correction and not a cyclical event.
Ashish Singhal, Co-founder, CoinSwitch, said: “Bitcoin fell below $90,000 for the first time in seven months, influenced by several factors such as uncertainty around potential US interest rate cuts, broader negative equity market sentiment, and large holders reducing their positions.”
“While some point to death cross, similar patterns in the past have also preceded recoveries. Overall, the movement reflects a period of short-term volatility across markets,” he added.
Sumit Gupta, Co-founder, CoinDCX, said, “The steady volume spikes on days of sharper price movements highlight that investor participation remains strong, signalling resilience and continued confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term potential despite short-term volatility.”
Over the past month, Bitcoin has slipped nearly 15 percent, sliding from above $110,000 to around $91,000 by late evening on November 18.
Ethereum, too, showed a similar pattern, though on a smaller scale on Giottus. Post-correction, ETH buy orders rose by around 5 percent, driven mainly by long-term investors who understand that ETH often lags Bitcoin during sharp corrections and then recovers as market conditions stabilise, explained Vikram Subburaj, Co-founder, Giottus.
He noted that the investor reaction to the Bitcoin correction has been far more strategic than emotional, unlike the cycles of 2017 and 2021.
“What is different from earlier cycles is the intent and preparation. A growing share of our customers came into Bitcoin with SIPs, target allocation ranges, and a basic understanding of halving cycles and macro risk. Investors are pairing BTC with stablecoins and blue-chip alts, keeping emergency liquidity outside the market, and sizing their positions better,” said Subburaj.
Not just retail investors, for digital asset management firms like 9Point Capital, that works for HNIs (high net worth individuals) and family offices, the crash gave them an opportunity to buy more.
“The fall is a structural correction, a bull market correction driven by trickle-down effect as some investors started liquidating their long-held BTC, leading to a panic selling by other investors in the past few days,” said Parth Srivastava, Head of Quant, 9Point Capital’s research team.
What caused the Bitcoin crash?
The Bitcoin sell-off surged after some long-term investors started booking profits from their dormant supply of tokens in early October. Bitcoin and other major tokens that were untouched since 2020-2022 started moving. This eventually had a cascading effect on the overall global market that led to panic selling among other investors.
In roughly five weeks, the total crypto market capitalisation has plunged by over $1.2 trillion from its early-October record highs.
Also read: Bitcoin slides below $90,000, lowest since April; Why is crypto market falling?
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