I noticed an interesting pattern in the market at the end of January. Bitcoin then dropped below 86,000, and Ethereum nearly fell to $2,800. At first glance, it looks like a normal correction, but if you dig deeper, there's a whole tangle of factors.

First, about the stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.58%, the S&P 500 hardly moved, and the Nasdaq barely stayed in positive territory. Over the week, the picture is even more grim — all three indices are in the red. Investors were clearly nervous. Meanwhile, precious metals soared to new highs, with gold surpassing $5,000 per ounce. People were obviously seeking safe havens.

But here's what’s really interesting — in 12 hours, nearly $603 million worth of positions were liquidated, with $553 million of that in longs. The fear index dropped to 29, indicating extreme fear, in short. The reasons? There are several. Trump announced 25% tariffs on countries trading with Iran. Demonstrations of power began in the Persian Gulf — aircraft carrier, exercises, all that. The probability of conflict between the US and Iran jumped to 53% according to forecast markets. Plus, the chance of a US government shutdown shot up from 8% to 80%.

Another point — the earnings season for tech giants. Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, Apple all had to release quarterly results. The market was worried about the profitability of AI spending and cloud services. These companies make up a quarter of the S&P 500, so their results impact the entire market, including crypto.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs showed a net outflow of $700 million in one day, and Ethereum also bled — $229 million flowed out in a single day. It looks like retail panic.

But what caught my attention was data from Santiment. Whales, those holding 10,000–10,000 BTC, accumulated another 36,000 Bitcoin over nine days. Retail was selling, and smart money was buying. This is a classic pattern before a rally. Placeholder-partner even said he’s looking at levels of $229M, $553M, and $603M as entry points. Like, if it drops — I’ll buy even more; if it bounces — I’ll hold and diversify.

So, falling below 86,000 isn’t the end of the story, but rather an opportunity. Geopolitics and macroeconomics created panic, but amid that, big players are quietly accumulating. Usually, this signals interesting moves ahead.