$1.03 Billion Crypto Crash: Peter Brandt Names One Condition for Market Reversal

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has weighed in on recent market declines, highlighting one key condition that might trigger a reversal.

Global markets extended a broad sell-off, with U.S. stock futures signaling a fourth day of losses. Bitcoin fell to a fresh six-month low below $90,000, erasing all of its 2025 gains, and is down nearly 28% from its October record high.

The sell-off on the crypto market over the last 24 hours has resulted in over $1.03 billion in liquidations, of which $726.52 million are long positions and $308.22 million in shorts, according to CoinGlass data. Several altcoins have now fallen to multimonth lows. 

The crypto market has struggled to find support after an early-October sell-off triggered more than $19 billion in liquidations and wiped out over $1 trillion in market value.

In a recent tweet, Brandt hints at one thing that could end the current market declines: when conviction wanes and supposed die-hard traders throw in the towel. 

Brandt wrote in a tweet, "Market declines end when enough die-hard traders who said they would never ever liquidate actually end up liquidating, and say, 'I've had enough. I don't care to ever hear the name of that asset again.' It's called 'Worshiping at the porcelain altar.' "

What the legendary trader is likely referring to is capitulation, where weak hands get shaken out, leading to a market reset.

Market capitulation

Capitulation, a phenomenon on the financial markets, typically follows a significant downturn in price even while many investors remain bullish. However, as conviction wanes, selling increases as more investors sell to avoid further losses, resulting in steeper declines. 

This sees "weak hands," which refer to investors lacking conviction being shaken out and replaced with more risk-tolerant investors, who view the price declines as an opportunity.

Oftentimes, the dramatic drop in market prices caused by capitulation could mark the end of a downturn. Historically, capitulation is usually followed by renewed interest in assets that have been hit hard, reversing the trend.

At Bitcoin's current prices near $91,000, nearly 99% of investors who accumulated Bitcoin within the past 155 days are holding at a loss, according to Glassnode.