Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline, dropping 3.7% within an hour to fall below $87,000 from $90,000, as of December 1, 2025, 8 AM Beijing time. Ethereum also saw a decrease, falling to approximately $2,800 from $3,000, with a broad decline across altcoins. This market movement coincided with $434 million in liquidations over the past four hours, predominantly from long positions, according to Coinglass. The downturn follows a meeting by the People's Bank of China on November 29, where officials reiterated that virtual currencies are not legal tender and highlighted the risks associated with stablecoins in money laundering and fraud. Analysts suggest the market is undergoing a 'leverage washout' and is suffering from a lack of new capital inflows, drawing parallels to the 2022 bear market.