OneKey founder Yishi has urged investors to avoid leverage and altcoins while maintaining Bitcoin spot holdings as the cryptocurrency’s latest selloff pushed prices toward $62,000 on November 15.
Summary
- OneKey founder Yishi urged investors to avoid leverage and altcoins while maintaining Bitcoin spot holdings.
- Bitcoin touched nearly $62,081 on November 15 after seven consecutive sessions of ETF withdrawals.
- Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan compared the current downturn with 2018 and warned that weakness could persist.
- Strive CEO Matt Cole projected a possible Bitcoin recovery toward $90,000 by late February 2027.
- Anthropic’s proposed IPO could raise approximately $64.35 billion at the top of its preliminary price range.
In a November 15 post on X, Yishi warned against borrowing money to predict a market bottom, arguing that investors should protect their finances while waiting for conditions to improve. His comments came as Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan compared the downturn with the 2018 bear market, while Strive CEO Matt Cole offered a more optimistic recovery scenario.
Bitcoin price was trading near $65,400 in the latest BTC price data, down around 3% over 24 hours after touching $62,081. The cryptocurrency has lost nearly 15% over seven days.
OneKey founder warns Bitcoin investors against leverage and altcoins
Yishi said recent losses had left cryptocurrency investors exhausted, with some suffering substantial declines in their portfolios. Nevertheless, he argued that periods of weak demand and limited liquidity had occurred throughout Bitcoin’s history, including in 2015, 2018 and 2022.
His advice centered on reducing risks that could force investors to exit positions during another price fall. He told followers, “don’t touch leverage,” and warned against using debt to speculate on when the market would recover.
The OneKey founder urged investors to “stay away from altcoins” and abandon expectations of quick profits. He favored maintaining core Bitcoin spot holdings while keeping enough money available for everyday expenses, instead of committing funds needed for living costs.
He described survival as the highest priority during difficult markets, even for investors who remain confident about Bitcoin’s longer-term prospects. Yishi argued that patience and financial discipline were necessary to withstand further losses.
Using a hypothetical fall from $1 million to $500,000, he explained that severe corrections could continue even if Bitcoin eventually traded at much higher prices. The example was not a prediction that BTC would reach either figure.
Bitcoin ETF outflows and liquidations accompany market decline
The recent selling has affected both institutional funds and traders using borrowed capital. Farside Investors reported approximately $1.91 billion in withdrawals from US spot Bitcoin ETFs across seven consecutive trading sessions ending November 13.
During the November 9–13 week alone, Bitcoin funds lost $1.065 billion. As previously reported, Friday’s net outflow reached $185.4 million, including $143.5 million from BlackRock’s IBIT and $41.9 million from Fidelity’s FBTC.
The latest selloff has been particularly difficult for leveraged traders. CoinGlass data put cryptocurrency liquidations at nearly $1.96 billion over a rolling 24 hours. Bitcoin accounted for roughly $750 million, with nearly $600.5 million coming from traders holding long positions.
Forced liquidations occur when an exchange closes a leveraged position after its collateral drops below the required level. Those closures can generate additional selling as prices decline, particularly during periods of limited liquidity.
Bitwise’s Matt Hougan compares crypto downturn with 2018
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the current environment reminded him of mid-2018, when prolonged losses had left traders discouraged and some participants were abandoning the industry.
In his post on X, Hougan pointed to the US midterm election results, problems surrounding Binance and tight monetary policy as pressures that could take more time to work through. He suggested investors might eventually encounter an attractive buying opportunity but did not identify when it would arrive.
The Bitwise executive had previously described the market as a crypto winter in February, arguing that weakness among many tokens began in January 2025 despite continuing demand from Bitcoin ETFs and digital asset treasury companies.
Hougan compared a possible recovery with the emergence of decentralized finance during the previous downturn. He suggested that another wave of technological innovation could attract investors, although he did not identify a particular project or timetable.
Meanwhile, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee maintained a more optimistic outlook in his latest crypto market assessment. Lee attributed the weakness to several potential factors, including technology stock selling and preparations for Anthropic’s IPO, while maintaining his prediction of a cryptocurrency supercycle.
Strive CEO Matt Cole predicts potential Bitcoin rebound toward $90K
Strive CEO Matt Cole offered a separate comparison, connecting Bitcoin’s recent losses to investor preparations for Anthropic’s initial public offering. He said BTC fell 18% in the 50 days preceding the planned listing, similar to a 19% decline before SpaceX went public.
SpaceX completed its $75 billion IPO on June 12, according to Nasdaq. Cole said Bitcoin subsequently reached a low 18 days after the listing, then recovered sufficiently to stand 3.7% above its starting level by day 100.
Anthropic’s November 10 SEC filing proposed an offering of 825 million shares with an estimated price range of $70 to $78 each. The upper end implies an offering value of approximately $64.35 billion, although the prospectus remained preliminary.
In his market analysis, Cole suggested that a similar recovery pattern could take Bitcoin toward $90,000 by late February 2027.
However, he acknowledged the limitations of historical comparisons, writing, “Markets rarely follow a comparison like this exactly.”
