Bitcoin crashed. Again.
Over the weekend, the world's most famous cryptocurrency plummeted from $84,356 to $75,644 in a matter of hours. That's a drop of more than ten percent. The smell of fear spread through trading floors and Reddit threads alike. Liquidations hit $800 million. Altcoins bled even harder—Cardano down nearly 14%, Solana down over 13%.
And yet, here I am, writing this from my wheelchair in Emilia-Romagna, feeling oddly calm.
Let me explain why.
The Anatomy of a Crash
First, let's understand what actually happened. Bitcoin broke through a support level at $82,500 and then fell through thin liquidity zones like a stone through water. Weekend trading made everything worse—fewer buyers, more volatility, panic amplified. The 50-day exponential moving average near $90,000 flipped from support to resistance .
In plain English: the floor gave way, and there wasn't much underneath to catch the fall.
Traders describe this as a "deleveraging event" rather than a gradual sell-off. Leveraged positions—bets made with borrowed money—were forced to close. When that happens, selling begets more selling. It's a cascade.
The numbers are stark. Bitcoin lost its "true market mean" of $80,700 for the first time since October 2023. Strategy, the company holding over 700,000 Bitcoin, watched its entire position slip into negative territory against its average cost basis of $76,037 . Their stock has fallen nearly 70% from last year's high.
"First Time, Uh?"
I love the internet sometimes. While Bitcoin was crashing, someone on Reddit posted a panicked thread titled "Bitcoin, è finita?" (Bitcoin, is it over?) . The top response? "First time, uh?" .
That single comment captures something important.
Bitcoin has "died" hundreds of times. It crashed in 2018 when 95 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies lost value in a single day. It crashed in 2022. It crashed in 2020. It crashed in 2014. Each time, someone declared it finished. Each time, it wasn't.
One commenter wrote: "Ormai non guardo più sto a -25%, ci vediamo tra un paio di anni" (I don't look anymore, I'm down 25%, see you in a couple of years) . Another replied: "Quando sarai a -80%" (When you're down 80%) .
Dark humour, yes. But also wisdom.
The Psychology of Panic
Here's where my background in physics becomes useful—not for the maths, but for the mindset.
In science, we learn to separate signal from noise. A single data point tells you almost nothing. A trend tells you something. Context tells you everything.
The crypto market crash underscores something researchers have noted: behavioural dispositions form the basis for investor decision-making . Fear spreads faster than information. When prices fall, our brains scream "danger" and demand action. Selling feels like control.
But selling at the bottom isn't control. It's surrender.
I've spent my life in a wheelchair. I've had surgeries that failed. I've had a DBS implant put in and then removed. I know what it feels like when the ground disappears beneath you. The instinct is to thrash, to panic, to do something.
The better response? Breathe. Assess. Wait.
What's Actually Driving This?
The crash didn't happen in a vacuum. The U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass a spending package. Political uncertainty always rattles markets. Add to that the broader economic anxiety, and you have a recipe for volatility.
Interestingly, Bitcoin held up better than gold during the same period. That's worth noting. In a world where everything is falling, relative strength matters.
On-chain data shows something else: new Bitcoin addresses surged to their highest daily increase in nearly two months Long-term investors are buying. They see lower prices as opportunity, not catastrophe.
The Brutal Truth
Let me be direct. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value in the traditional sense. It's not backed by a government or a physical commodity. Its worth comes entirely from collective belief—from the agreement that it's worth something.
That's either terrifying or liberating, depending on your perspective.
I'm a physicist. I deal in measurable quantities. And yet, I've learned that some of the most powerful forces in the universe—gravity, electromagnetism, human conviction—are invisible until they act.
Bitcoin is a bet on the future of decentralised finance. It's a bet on distrust of institutions. It's a bet on technology. Whether that bet pays off depends on factors no one can fully predict.
So What Should You Do?
I'm not a financial advisor. I'm a guy in a wheelchair who studies stars and writes about science. But here's what I've learned from both:
Don't make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions. The crash feels enormous right now. In five years, it might be a footnote.
Understand what you own. If you bought Bitcoin without understanding its volatility, this crash is your education. Tuition is expensive.
Zoom out. Bitcoin's price history from 2009 to 2025 is a story of wild swings punctuated by long-term growth. The pattern isn't guaranteed to continue. But it hasn't broken yet.
Remember that markets are made of people. And people panic. And then they calm down. And then they panic again. This is the rhythm of investing.
A Personal Note
I founded FreeAstroScience because I believe knowledge should be accessible. I believe science can change lives—it changed mine. And I believe that understanding complex systems, whether they're galaxies or markets, gives us power over our own fear.
The universe is chaotic. Stars explode. Galaxies collide. And yet, patterns emerge. Order arises from disorder.
Markets are the same. They crash. They recover. They crash again. The question isn't whether volatility will happen. It's whether you'll still be standing when it passes.
I've been knocked down more times than I can count. Literally. Figuratively. Medically.
I'm still here.
Bitcoin might be too. Or it might not. But panicking won't change the outcome. Understanding might.
Looking Ahead
Analysts say the next support zone sits in the low-to-mid $70,000 range, with the April 2025 low of $74,500 as a key level . Some point to $69,000—the last bull market high from November 2021—as a longer-term floor .
Until Bitcoin reclaims the $82,000 to $84,000 range, downside risk remains elevated. That's the technical reality.
The human reality is simpler: nobody knows what happens next.
And that's okay. Uncertainty is the price of participation. In markets. In science. In life.
Never give up. But also, never panic.
— Gerd
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