#我在Gate广场过新年 Bitcoin has dropped!!! The number of liquidations across the entire network is soaring, and panic is spreading like a virus. Meme emojis in the group are flooding the chat—"Bitcoin is dead." Wait, why does this sound so familiar?

In 2010, when it was $0.1, someone said it was dead; in 2011, at $1, it was dead again; in 2013, at $50, still dead; in 2015, at $200, completely dead; in 2018, at $3000, it should be truly dead this time; in 2022, at $15,000, dead as can be; in 2024, at $39,000, dead once more; in 2025, at $74,000, truly dead... and then what? Each "death" price jumps to a higher level. From 0.1 to 65,000, 447 "deaths," resulting in a 650,000-fold increase.

Today, we’re not talking about the cliché of "fear is greed." What we want to discuss is another question: Is this time really Bitcoin that’s falling?
Open your watchlist and look at those altcoins. Are some already back to the start of the bull market? Are some contract fees already ridiculously negative? Are some project teams’ groups silent for three days? The truth is: this round of decline, the most brutal isn’t Bitcoin, but the "bubble layer" of the entire crypto space.
You’ll notice something interesting: when Bitcoin drops from 74,000 to 65,000, a 12% decline, those altcoins that once claimed "thousandfold myths" have already been cut in half again. And meme coins with no products at all have gone straight to zero. This isn’t a crash; it’s a clearance. Funds are doing one thing: pulling out of the trash heap and squeezing into core assets.
Check on on-chain data—Bitcoin balances on exchanges are decreasing. What does that mean? It means some people are buying and then withdrawing. Not retail investors; retail investors don’t have that capacity. It’s the real "big fish," taking advantage of this panic to quietly scoop up assets.
Look at ETF inflows and outflows. During the previous two crashes, ETFs experienced net outflows—retail investors ran, and institutions followed. But this time, when Bitcoin hit 65,000, ETFs actually started net inflows. Wall Street is telling you with real money: Bitcoin at 65,000 is a discounted commodity in their eyes.
What does this mean for the crypto world?
It means that soon, you’ll see two extremely polarized markets: one is Bitcoin, with decreasing volatility, increasingly resembling "digital gold," becoming more and more boring. But boredom indicates safety. The other is altcoins, which used to be "a hundred ships vying for the flow," and now will become a "big survival game." Projects without real users, no cash flow, just storytelling—once they fall, they may never recover. But those with real substance will emerge as the protagonists in the next wave after the dust settles.

DeFi will also change. Look at this decline—can the on-chain liquidation mechanisms still operate?
Yes, they can.
Have high leverage positions been liquidated? Yes, they have.
That’s the meaning of DeFi—allowing the market to clear itself without anyone rescuing it. 447 "deaths" have resulted in a healthier crypto space. No leverage-induced inflation, no bubbles of air projects, no emotional FOMO.

Bitcoin at 65,000 isn’t the end. Those shouting "Bitcoin is dead" have never lost because of poor vision—they’ve lost because of timing. They always want to make the most money in the shortest time, then get washed out by a downturn. The ones who truly stay are just doing one thing right: looking a little longer when everyone else says "it’s dead."