Correction → Simple meaning: A noticeable drop in price (often 10–20% or more) after a strong rise, but not necessarily the end of the overall uptrend. Article example: Calls this “one of the worst corrections since 2017” and argues it’s not just a normal correction, but a bigger change.
Drawdown → Simple meaning: How far the price has fallen from its recent highest point (peak) in percentage terms. Article example: “Bitcoin peaked at $126K and is now around $89K — a brutal 30% drawdown.” Practical example: Peak: $100,000, current: $80,000 → drawdown = ($100,000 – $80,000) ÷ $100,000 = 20%.
Long-term holders (LTHs) → Simple meaning: People who usually hold their coins or stocks for many months/years instead of trading frequently. Article example: “Long-term holders finally selling.” Why it matters: When LTHs sell, it can signal loss of confidence in the uptrend.
Order book depth → Simple meaning: How many buy and sell orders exist at different prices on the exchange. Deep order book = lots of orders; thin = very few. Article example: “Order book depth for BTC and ETH is the worst since mid-2022.”
Market makers / Liquidity providers → Simple meaning: Traders or firms that continuously quote buy and sell prices. They help make it easy for you to trade whenever you want. If they leave: The market becomes “thin”; your orders can move the price a lot.
Bid support → Simple meaning: How many buy orders (bids) sit below the current price to “catch” the price if it drops. Article example: “Bid support is thin and fragile.” Practical example: Strong liquidity: You want to sell $1M of BTC and the price barely moves. Weak liquidity: You try to sell $1M of BTC and the price suddenly falls 2–5% because there aren’t enough buyers.
Market structure → Simple meaning: The overall pattern of price action and how buyers/sellers are positioned (trend, support/resistance, liquidity, etc.). Article example: “Market structure is cracking,” “structural breakdowns.”
Structural breakdown → Simple meaning: Not just one bad day, but a bigger change in how the market behaves — e.g., old supports failing, new lower highs, liquidity gone. Practical example: For months, BTC forms higher highs and higher lows (bullish structure). Then it starts forming lower highs and lower lows, and support levels keep breaking. That’s a structural change.
Market cap (market capitalization) → Simple meaning: Total value of all coins/tokens of a crypto (or all cryptos) = price × circulating supply. Article example: “Global Crypto Market Cap Has Lost $1.2 Trillion Since October… from $4.3T → $3.1T.” Practical example: If BTC price is $100,000 and there are 19 million BTC in circulation: Market cap ≈ 100,000 × 19,000,000 = $1.9 trillion. Important: A $1.2 trillion drop in market cap doesn’t mean $1.2 trillion cash left. It means the valuation went down due to lower prices.
Relief rally → Simple meaning: A short-term bounce in price during a bigger downtrend. Feels good, but doesn’t change the overall bearish direction. Article idea: “Altcoin relief rallies in late-cycle conditions ALWAYS precede a bigger leg down.” Practical example: BTC falls from $120k → $90k, then bounces to $100k but later drops to $80k. That $90k → $100k move is a relief rally.
Crypto equities → Simple meaning: Stocks of companies linked to crypto (exchanges, miners, companies holding lots of BTC). Article example: MicroStrategy (MSTR), BitMine (BMNR), Circle (CRCL) down 8–9%. Why it matters: These stocks often move before or with the crypto market, giving hints about broader investor sentiment.
Options → Simple meaning: Contracts that give you the right (not obligation) to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price before a certain date. Call option → Simple meaning: Right to buy at a fixed price. People buy calls when they think price will go up. Put option → Simple meaning: Right to sell at a fixed price. People buy puts when they think price will go down, or they want protection against a drop. Buying protection → Simple meaning: Buying puts so if the market falls, your options gain value and reduce your loss. Article example: “Short-dated options show huge demand for puts over calls… The market is buying protection, not upside.” Open interest → Simple meaning: The total number of outstanding option (or futures) contracts that haven’t been closed yet. Rising open interest = more active positions. Falling open interest = positions being closed or reduced. Volatility (in options context) → Simple meaning: How much the market expects prices to move. Higher expected moves = more expensive options. Article example: “Volatility is rising.” That means the market expects bigger future moves.
Macro backdrop → Simple meaning: The big picture of the economy and financial system: interest rates, inflation, central bank decisions (like the FOMC), global growth, etc. Risk-off → Simple meaning: A period when investors want less risk. They sell “risky” assets (stocks, crypto) and move into safer ones (cash, bonds, gold). Article example: “Risk-off conditions are tightening. Crypto historically collapses in risk-off environments.”
Safe-haven asset → Simple meaning: An asset people trust to hold value when things look dangerous (e.g., gold, high-quality government bonds). Article example: “Gold bounced 1%, signaling strong safe-haven demand.” That means people are shifting money into gold for safety.
Cycle → Simple meaning: A full pattern from bull market (up) → top → bear market (down) → bottom → new bull. Crypto often has multi-year cycles. Cycle top → Simple meaning: The highest part of the cycle — the peak before the long bear market. Blow-off top → Simple meaning: A very sharp, emotional final price spike driven by hype and FOMO, which quickly reverses. Article example: “ETF-driven blow-off” — saying the ETF excitement helped cause that final spike. Lower high → Simple meaning: The next big peak is lower than the previous peak, showing weakening strength. Article pattern list: “Temporary altcoin rally → BTC lower high → breakdown.” That’s a classic sign of a trend turning from up to down.
Bear Market vs. Bull Market → Definition: A Bull Market is when prices are rising, and optimism is high. A Bear Market is the opposite: prices are falling significantly (usually 20% or more from the peak), and pessimism rules. The Article says: “This is the beginning of a bear market.” Simple Example: Think of a Bull attacking upwards with its horns (price goes up). Think of a Bear swiping downwards with its paws (price goes down). The article argues Bitcoin dropping from $126k to $89k is a “Bear” move.
Correction → Definition: A moderate decline in price (usually 10-20%) after a period of rising prices. It is often seen as “healthy” because it stops prices from getting too expensive too fast. The Article says: “This isn’t a healthy correction.” Simple Example: If you are running a marathon and stop to tie your shoe, that’s a “correction”—you resume running shortly. If you collapse and need an ambulance, that is a crash (or a Bear Market). The author believes Bitcoin has “collapsed,” not just stopped to tie its shoe.
Hopium → Definition: A slang term combining “Hope” and “Opium.” It refers to investors who ignore negative data and irrationally hope prices will go up because they want them to, not because facts support it. The Article says: “…wake-up call for anyone still clinging to hopium.” The Article says: “…wake-up call for anyone still clinging to hopium.” Simple Example: Staying in a toxic relationship because you hope the person will change, even though they’ve shown you they won’t. That is “relationship hopium.”
Risk-Off → Definition: An environment where investors are scared. They sell risky assets (like Crypto or Tech stocks) and buy safe assets (like Gold or Government Bonds). The Article says: “Risk-off conditions are tightening.” Simple Example: When a storm is coming (economic fear), people stop buying convertibles (Crypto) and start buying insurance and bottled water (Gold/Cash).
Puts vs. Calls (Options) → Definition: Contracts that let you bet on the future price. Call Option: A bet the price will go UP. Put Option: A bet the price will go DOWN. The Article says: “Short-dated options show huge demand for puts over calls.” Simple Example: If the “demand for puts” is high, it means the majority of smart money is betting that Bitcoin will crash next week. They are buying “insurance” against a drop.
(7 minutes read time) Source: https://medium.com/@crypto-unfiltered/btc-plunges-below-90k-liquidity-has-collapsed-and-etf-outflows-intensify-1c1ff9eb0f53