Cryptocurrencies continued to "plummet" on Monday, with some tokens falling back to the flash crash lows of October. "Institutional demand for Bitcoin has dropped below the mining speed for the first time in seven months."

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Under the shadow of the historic deleveraging event in October, the cryptocurrency market is facing a new wave of selling pressure. A key indicator shows that demand from large institutional investors is weakening, adding to the market's cautious sentiment.

On Monday, the cryptocurrency market remained under pressure, with the price of Bitcoin falling below $107,000. The broader altcoin market performed even more weakly, with some tokens falling back to the lows seen during the flash crash in October, when tens of billions of dollars in leveraged positions were liquidated.

A signal worth noting is that, according to Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, institutional demand for Bitcoin has, for the first time in seven months, fallen below the rate at which new coins are being mined. This shift implies that large buyers may be pulling back, and, together with other market activities, points to a risk-averse tone across the cryptocurrency market.

Cautious Market Sentiment, Cooling Institutional Demand

Bitcoin fell as much as 4.3% to around $105,300 on Monday. Though it is still up about 14% since December last year, its recent performance has clearly been weak. Meanwhile, the MarketVector index tracking the bottom 50 performers among the top 100 digital assets fell for the third consecutive trading day, with a drop as much as 8.8%, and the index is down about 60% so far this year.

Market participants noted that it has been three weeks since the violent October shakeout that wiped out about $19 billion in long positions, but its "after-effects" are still lingering. Jordi Alexander, CEO of crypto trading and market-making company Selini Capital, said the crypto market is in a "hangover phase" after the shock of October's liquidations. He believes it will take time to rebuild the destroyed capital base, and investor sentiment remains cautious.

Alexander added, "The market must first prove that a convincing price bottom is about to form, before it can attempt another upward breakthrough." In his view, investors will not rush in until there are clear signs that prices have found support.

In addition to fragile market sentiment, a key technical indicator is also flashing red. Charles Edwards of Capriole Investments pointed out that institutional demand for Bitcoin has slowed, falling below the production rate of new coins for the first time in seven months. This data suggests that one of the key forces previously driving the market higher may be weakening.

Selling Pressure from Other Sources? Profit-taking and "Dormant" Bitcoins Activated

Not everyone blames the current decline solely on the October market shock.

Matthew Kimmell, digital asset analyst at CoinShares, described this round of pullback as "somewhat puzzling." He believes that while the market "is still experiencing some aftershocks from the liquidation event," other factors are also worth watching.

Kimmell pointed out that, according to Bitcoin's public trading records, some wallets that had been dormant for a long time have been activated. "These tokens have started to move, most likely re-entering the market and providing some selling pressure as investors are taking profits," he said. "This is something I am continuously monitoring."

Jake Hanley, Managing Director of Teucrium ETFs, also believes that the reason for falling prices is that "people are taking profits." He noted that the current technical picture shows a divided market. "Since summer, prices led by Bitcoin have been declining, and XRP has also obviously trended downward since midsummer," Hanley said. "In the process, the prices themselves are telling you that people are cashing out profits."

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