Bitcoin has dropped below $106,000, losing more than 4% in a sharp decline that affected the entire cryptocurrency market. Major altcoins like ether and solana saw even bigger losses, falling between 6% and 10%. The downturn led to over $1 billion in liquidated leveraged trading positions, highlighting the market's volatility. Analysts like Tom Lee remain optimistic, predicting Bitcoin could rebound to $200,000 and ether to $7,000 by year-end, but achieving these targets would require significant price increases in a short time. The recent sell-off has essentially reversed the recovery from the October 10 crash. Bitcoin's price, which had hovered around $110,000, has now dipped below $108,000. Stocks related to the crypto sector also took a hit, with companies like Circle and Gemini down 6% and 7%, respectively. Coinbase and Marathon Digital dropped 4%, while Robinhood prepares to report its third-quarter earnings amid the downturn. BlackRock's digital assets chief, Robert Mitchnick, raised concerns about the heavy use of leverage in crypto derivatives. He argues this volatility undermines Bitcoin's perceived stability as an institutional investment. While Bitcoin's fundamentals remain solid, the trading patterns resemble a highly leveraged NASDAQ, making it less appealing to conservative investors. Mitchnick believes that the main sources of volatility stem from perpetual futures platforms rather than exchange-traded funds like BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF.