If you opened your portfolio this week and felt a pit in your stomach, you weren’t alone. The November crash that dragged Bitcoin from its October highs of $126,000 down to the low $80,000s wasn’t just a correction; it was a stress test. It separated the fragile from the fortified, the gamblers from the investors, and the solvent from the distressed.
But while $1.2 trillion in wealth evaporated, it didn’t just vanish—it transferred. In every crisis, there is a winner.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 08: Gold Bitcoins are seen in the window of a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange office on November 08, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. Bitcoin has soared to new record highs nearing 77,000 in the days after Donald Trump’s re-election and on his campaign promise to support Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
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So, who actually lost their shirt in this mess, and who is quietly popping champagne? Let’s walk through the wreckage.
The “Fragile Middle”: Who Is Drowning?
You might think the biggest losers are the Bitcoin miners, but the real pain is concentrated in a very specific group: the late-cycle corporate copycats.
Remember Metaplanet, the company which was dubbed the “Asia MicroStrategy”? They are in trouble. Unlike Michael Saylor, who bought Bitcoin years ago at $30k, Metaplanet went on a buying spree in late 2024 and 2025. Their average entry price is estimated to be over $100,000.
The Reality Check: With Bitcoin at about $88,000, they are sitting on a sizable unrealized loss. related: How Two Big Institutions Triggered The BTC CrashThe Death Spiral: Their stock is down ~80%, meaning they can’t easily issue new shares to raise cash. They have no software business to fall back on. They are swimming naked, and the tide just went out.
Then there are the Retail ETF Investors. If you bought IBIT or FBTC in the last six months, this hurts.
The Math: The average cost basis for all U.S. Spot ETF holders is roughly $89,600 – essentially the blended entry price for all lifetime inflows into these ETFsThe Panic: When prices dipped below that line, the “smart money” panicked. We saw about $3.8 billion flow out of ETFs in November. This wasn’t “diamond hands”; it was a rush for the exits.
The Survivors: Bending, Not Breaking
What about MicroStrategy and El Salvador? Everyone assumes they are reckless, but the data tells a different story.
Michael Saylor’s Buffer: Yes, MSTR stock crashed 40% over the past month. But his average cost per Bitcoin is still only $74,433. Bitcoin has to fall another $14,000 before his treasury is actually underwater. He’s bruised, but nowhere near broken.El Salvador’s Dollar-Cost Averaging: El Salvador’s President Bukele looks smarter than his critics right now. Because El Salvador has been buying 1 BTC per day since 2022 (when prices were $16k–$20k), their portfolio is remarkably resilient. They might be underwater on their 2021 coins, but in aggregate, they are holding the line.
The Real Winners: The “Cash Rich” and the “Risk Free”
Here is the plot twist: The biggest winner of the crypto crash isn’t a crypto believer at all. It’s the U.S. Dollar.
Tether (USDT): While crypto prices crashed, Tether sat on $100 billion of U.S. Treasuries, earning 4-5% risk-free interest. They reported $2.5 billion in profit just for Q3. They are using the crypto ecosystem’s liquidity to fund the U.S. government’s debt, making billions without taking any Bitcoin price risk.The Vultures (Riot & CleanSpark): Watch the miners. While weak miners like Stronghold are in liquidation proceedings, cash-rich giants like Riot Platforms are prowling. They have low production costs (about $46k in the most recent quarter) and piles of cash. They can possibly buy up the bankrupt miners for pennies on the dollar, consolidating the industry just in time for the next run.
So, What Now?
The crash has clarified the playing field.
If you are: A late-cycle leveraged company (Metaplanet), you are in survival mode.If you are: A sovereign state (El Salvador) or a legacy holder (MicroStrategy), you are enduring the volatility you signed up for.If you are: A stablecoin issuer (Tether) or a dominant miner (Riot), you are shopping for bargains.
The lesson of November 2025? Leverage is a double-edged sword. Those who used it to buy the top are being flushed out, clearing the way for those with the cash—and the stomach—to buy the bottom.
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