The crypto market witnessed volatility and uncertainty this week, with both major assets, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), exhibiting fluctuations. BTC slipped below $90,000, and ETH dropped under $3,050, levels that have hovered around over the past week.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $89,370, up 0.15%. The trading volume dropped 9% to $61.02 billion. Major altcoins, ETH, XRP, and SOL, follow the same trend, posting price declines of 0.75%, 1.05%, and 1.95%, respectively, over the same period.
Reasons Behind the Crypto Market Weakness
One of the catalysts driving the ongoing market struggle appears to be the rising Bitcoin and Ethereum reserves on exchanges, ongoing profit-booking by miners, and a sharp decline in MicroStrategy’s BTC purchases.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange Reserves Surge
Data from the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant reveals that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange reserves have risen significantly over the past 48 hours. According to the exchange reserve metrics, Bitcoin reserves on exchanges increased from 2,765,247 to 2,766,597 BTC, a rise of 1,350 BTC worth $120.01 million over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the exchange reserve metric shows that ETH reserves on exchanges have also surged, notably rising from 16,549,494 to 16,664,365 ETH, an increase of 114,871 ETH worth $349.20 million over the past 48 hours.
In crypto, the exchange reserve typically shows investors’ and whales’ participation. When the exchange reserve declines, it shows that market participants are potentially accumulating.
On the other hand, a rise in the exchange reserve suggests that market participants expect to liquidate their positions, which is a bearish signal for the price.
MicroStrategy’s BTC Purchases Collapse in 2025
In addition to the rise in exchange reserves, another factor is the decline in MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin purchases. Recently, CryptoQuant shared a post on X highlighting that Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) Bitcoin buying has collapsed throughout 2025.
The post further discloses that Strategy’s monthly BTC purchases fell drastically from 134K at the 2024 peak to just 9.1k BTC in November 2025, only 135 BTC so far this month.
The market participants are still assessing the impact of the move.
Bitcoin Miners Cash Out $4.3 Million
Further, Crypto miners are on a profit-booking spree during this period, pressurizing prices. A prominent crypto analyst shared a post on X, noting BTC miners stepped in amid a short-market rebound, cashing out more than $4.30 million in profit.
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