The cryptocurrency market's latest nosedive - erasing over $1 trillion in value since its October 7 peak - has left traders shell-shocked and speculators scrambling for cover. Bitcoin (BTC) cratered below $96,000 on November 15, 2025, its lowest in six months, while Ethereum (ETH) shed 24% over the prior 90 days to linger around $3,227, per CoinMarketCap data.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index nosedived to 10, signaling "extreme fear" unseen since February, with the average Relative Strength Index (RSI) for major coins dipping to 41 - deep into oversold territory.
Whispers of systemic failure have rippled through the community since the October 10-11 flash crash, but on November 15, BitMine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee dropped a theory that's both plausible and terrifying: the rot may be festering at the heart of the market's plumbing - its market makers.
In a viral X post that garnered over 870,000 views in 24 hours, Lee didn't mince words: "To me, the weakness in crypto has all the signs of a market maker (or two) with a major 'hole' in their balance sheet. Sharks circling to trigger a liquidation / dumping of prices $BTC."
He likened the chaos to quantitative tightening (QT) in traditional finance - a deliberate liquidity drain akin to the Federal Reserve's post-pandemic rate hikes, which siphoned $1.5 trillion from global markets in 2022 alone. "If this is true, it's a sort of QT for the crypto market," Lee added, urging followers to ditch leverage: "This is not a time to use leverage. Don’t get liquidated."
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Lee's diagnosis resonates because market makers - firms like Jump Trading, Wintermute, and Cumberland that provide the quotes and depth keeping exchanges liquid - are the unsung grease of crypto trading. They account for up to 70% of spot market volume on platforms like Binance and Coinbase, per Chainalysis's 2025 Mid-Year Report.
When one stumbles, the ripple effects are catastrophic: thinner order books amplify volatility, bids evaporate, and leveraged positions (totaling $25 billion open interest as of November 16, per Coinglass) cascade into forced sales. The October 10 crash liquidated $800 million in longs in under an hour, with BTC plunging 12% from $108,000 - a move that screamed engineered distress, not organic correction.
Rumors of market maker woes have swirled since that fateful weekend. On-chain sleuths at Lookonchain flagged unusual wallet drains from entities tied to Alameda Research remnants, while anonymous DEX traders on Telegram alleged a major OTC desk (over-the-counter trading firm) defaulted on $500 million in margin calls.
No names have surfaced - likely due to NDAs and reputational nukes - but the parallels to past meltdowns are uncanny.
Remember the 2022 Terra/Luna implosion? It started with a $40 billion hedge fund blowup at Three Arrows Capital, triggering market makers to unwind $10 billion in positions and sparking a 70% BTC drawdown.
Or FTX's November 2022 contagion, where Alameda’s $8 billion hole froze liquidity across exchanges. Lee's "sharks circling" evokes these ghosts: opportunistic whales (large holders controlling 42% of BTC supply, per Glassnode) probing for weakness, dumping to cascade stops and scoop bargains.
As chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR), Lee isn't just theorizing from the sidelines - he's betting against the panic.
The Las Vegas-based firm, which pivoted from Bitcoin mining to Ethereum treasury in June 2025, now holds nearly 3.4 million ETH, or about 2.8% of the total circulating supply (120 million ETH as of November 2025).
Valued at roughly $11 billion at current prices, this makes BitMine the largest corporate ETH holder and the second-biggest crypto treasury overall, trailing only MicroStrategy's (MSTR) 639,835 BTC stash worth $71 billion.
BitMine's aggressive accumulation—adding 82,353 ETH ($306 million) last week alone, per their November 3 filing - has ballooned total assets (crypto + cash + "moonshots") to $13.7 billion. The stock trades at a slight premium to net asset value (NAV), with average daily volume hitting $3.5 billion, ranking it #24 among U.S.-listed equities (Fundstrat data, September 2025).
Lee's optimism stems from Ethereum's "supercycle": Wall Street's blockchain buildout. Spot ETH ETFs, approved in May 2025, have inflows topping $12 billion YTD (BlackRock's iShares ETHA leads with $5.2 billion), while staking yields (now 4.2% APR) lure institutions.
BitMine stakes its hoard for extra revenue - $150 million annualized - and eyes 5% of ETH supply as the "alchemy" threshold for dominance. Even amid the rout, Lee sees no threat to this trajectory: "Is this pain short-term? Yes. Will this change the $ETH supercycle... of Wall Street building on blockchain? No."
Yet the market maker specter looms large. Crypto's $2.4 trillion ecosystem relies on 15-20 key liquidity providers, many overleveraged from the bull run. Regulatory scrutiny adds fuel: the SEC's October 2025 probes into Jump Crypto's $1.2 billion Luna exposure unearthed ties to unregistered securities, while CFTC fines on Cumberland for manipulative trading hit $50 million.
If Lee's hunch holds, resolution could come in 6-8 weeks - post-Thanksgiving, as he forecasted - once distressed desks recapitalize or consolidate. Geopolitical tailwinds, like the U.S.-China rare earths deal eyed for Thanksgiving (per Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent), could lift sentiment too.
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For retail traders, Lee's advice is gospel: de-lever and HODL. The October crash liquidated $1.2 billion in positions, per Bybit data, with 80% longs. As whales (holding 1.5 million BTC in cold storage) sit tight, this "QT moment" may purge weak hands, paving a cleaner rally. History backs it: post-2022 bear, BTC surged 1,200% in 18 months. But ignore the leverage siren, and you join the chum.
In crypto's Wild West, market makers are the sheriffs keeping order. When they falter, it's high noon for everyone. Lee's call isn't fearmongering - it's a flare gun in the dark, signaling turbulence but not Armageddon. For BitMine and believers like him, the dip is just another buy signal in Ethereum's inexorable march.
