Flash crash proved crypto's resiliency as Bitcoin adoption endures, says TD Cowen

The recent flash crash that led to liquidations of roughly $19 billion not only proved that crypto can still be extremely volatile — it also proved the digital assets ecosystem can survive shocks, TD Cowen analysts said in a note on Monday.

"While cognizant that the recent episode caused intense financial hardship for many investors, what strikes us is how well the underlying ecosystem functioned," analysts wrote. "Though it was the largest single-day liquidation ever, with open interest halved across venues, most crypto exchanges operated with little or no downtime."

Earlier this month, after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he would impose a 100% tariff on imports from China the total crypto market fell over 10%. First crypto liquidations quickly hit $10 billion before later climbing to nearly $20 billion.

"While less-reputable tokens were decimated, Bitcoin and Ethereum held up well enough, in our estimation. Bitcoin for example briefly reached a trough of down 15% only to close down just 8% on the day," the analysts also said Monday.

TD Cowen analysts are bullish on BTC, predicting the price of bitcoin will hit about $141,000 by December.

Aside from crediting crypto for its resilience, the analysts pointed to data showing that global adoption of Bitcoin "continues apace." For instance, TD Cowen analysts said that in Japan the number of registered accounts holding digital assets has quadrupled to over 7.9 million. 

"The growth has led its Financial Services Agency to reconsider the country's longstanding prohibition on banks investing in digital assets like bitcoin," the analysts said.