Where is Bitcoin price heading after the thunderous FTX collapse?

Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to brave strong headwinds that followed the fall of one of the largest crypto empires, FTX. Although BTC looked like it had bottomed last week, declines on Monday and Tuesday have erased hopes of a turnaround. Bitcoin price trades at $15,800, down 1.5% on the day.

FTX Group's bankruptcy filing reveals a cash balance of $1.24 billion

According to a new court filing, the defunct FTX Group has a combined cash balance of $1.24 billion. The filing submitted Monday by Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC, a contracted financial advisor, presented "substantially higher cash balances than the debtors were in a position to substantiate as of Wednesday, November 16."

The cash balances are spread across four silos, the Alameda silo, dotcom silo, ventures silo and West Realm Shires (WRS) silo. They comprise amounts from debtor and no-debtor entities. Approximately $175 million is in debtor entities, while $488 million has been accounted for by non-debtor entities.

Although the new cash balance is slightly higher than what was presented in previous filings, it is still significantly below the $3.1 billion owed to FTX Group's top 50 creditors. It is alleged that FTX has slightly over a million creditors.

The collapse of FTX was fueled by a sudden liquidity crisis, as investors rushed to withdraw their assets. FTX was illegally tapping customer deposits to fund risky acquisitions and bets via Alameda Research, the firm's trading arm.

Bitcoin price bleeds as crypto winter extends

Bitcoin price fell to a two-year low at around $15,425 after losing a critical support area at $16,000. The Stochastic oscillator in the three-day timeframe exhibits extremely oversold market conditions. In other words, bears are in control, with recovery attempts frequently thwarted by new revelations into the FTX debacle.

BTC/USD 3-day chart

According to the author of the popular finance book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," Robert Kiyosaki, the FTX crisis is not a holistic representation of the crypto market. He reckons that he remains bullish on Bitcoin and holds Ethereum.

"I'm still bullish on Bitcoin but don't consider silver and the silver ETF the same thing. And Bitcoin is not the same as Sam Bankman-Fried. (…) It's FTX that's the problem," Kiyosaki explained via a Twitter post.

"I'm still in favor of Bitcoin. I'm not against it as many people in my genre, in my age group, are, because I think Bitcoin is solid. I'm actually more into blockchain and I do own Ethereum," the renowned author continued.

As Kiyosaki maintains his bullish outlook for Bitcoin, other industry figures like Su Zhu, the founder of the fallen hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, says that the FTX collapse set the crypto space seven to eight years back.

"Some industry leaders have said the FTX collapse set the industry back by five years. I think it's even longer than that -- seven or eight years -- maybe even longer if the underlying issues aren't solved," Zhu commented while speaking at a special in-person interview in Abu Dhabi.

For now, all eyes are on Bitcoin price and if it will reclaim and keep support at $16,000 intact. A break above resistance at $17,500 could boost BTC toward $20,000 – a move that might restore confidence in the cryptocurrency market and pave the way for a much-needed bull run.