Risky Bets Amped Up Crypto Gains. Now They’re Fueling Their Selloff.

Summary

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WSJ What’s News: “Risky Bets Amped Up Crypto Gains. Now They’re Fueling Their Selloff.”

Air date: November 19, 2025
Host: Alex Osola
Guests: Vicki Goang (WSJ Crypto Reporter), Ana Wieldy Matthews (WSJ Health Insurance Reporter)

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Episode Overview

This PM edition of WSJ What’s News dives into the market’s biggest business and financial developments from the day, centering on how leveraged trading magnified crypto’s gains—and now its rapid losses. The episode examines the mechanisms behind the crypto selloff, Target’s efforts to recover from sluggish sales, concerns around Medicaid’s so-called “ghost networks,” the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut debate, and notable market movers.

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Key Topics and Insights

1. The Crypto Selloff: Leverage Turns on Traders

[00:18-04:49]

• Main Point: Leveraged crypto trades, once powering huge returns, are now intensifying a selloff, exposing how risk multiplies in both directions.
• Mechanism: Traders use “perpetual futures” to place bets with high leverage, some up to 100x their cash.
  • Quote:

    “If Bitcoin really jumps, you are very likely to get supercharged returns. However, if Bitcoin falls even just a little bit, you are going to end up in huge losses or maybe even get your entire position wiped out.”
    — Vicki Goang, [00:24] and [03:47]

• Recent Market Action:
  • Bitcoin plummeted below $93,000—its lowest since April—after a flash crash triggered by President Trump’s renewed trade war with China ([03:16-03:22]).
  • Bitcoin is down 25% from its October 6 all-time high of over $126,000 ([03:22]).
• Perpetual Futures Explained:
  • Contracts can be held indefinitely—no expiry—enabling ongoing leveraged bets.
  • The U.S. generally caps leverage at 10x (e.g., Coinbase), but overseas exchanges allow up to 100x leverage ([03:47]).
• Risks:
  • Leverage sharply magnifies both gains and losses: small drops in Bitcoin’s price can quickly wipe out positions ([03:47]).
  • “It works like a double-edged sword,” says Goang ([04:39]).
• Additional Selloff Drivers:
  • Investors pulling money from Bitcoin ETFs.
  • “Whale” holders cashing out.
  • Federal Reserve reluctance to cut rates threatens further declines.
  • Quote:

    “If the Federal Reserve doesn't cut interest rate in December, that could also really affect bitcoin prices.”
    — Vicki Goang, [04:49]

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2. Federal Reserve Rate Cut Debate

[01:06-02:26]

• Fed Meeting Minutes: October minutes reveal deepened divisions and a growing group uncomfortable with cutting rates in December.
  • Quote (citing Fed minutes):

    “Many officials thought the rate cut wouldn't be warranted next month.”

• Market Reaction:
  • Odds of a December rate cut drop after Labor Department delays October jobs data ([02:26]).
• Political Pressure: President Trump criticizes rates and threatens to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell:
  • Quote:

    “If you don't get it fixed fast, I'm going to fire your ass, okay?”
    — President Trump, at Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, [02:11]

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3. Stock Market Update & Broader Finance Moves

[02:26-03:16]

• Indexes: Tech led gains, with the Nasdaq up 0.6%; S&P and Dow snapped four-day losing streaks.
• Nvidia Highlights: Record sales, positive guidance—further analysis to come ([01:06]).
• Crypto as “Risky Trade”: Draws parallels with broader uncertainty and risk appetite in markets.

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4. Target’s Turnaround Efforts

[05:17-05:36]

• Main Point: Target will invest billions in in-store and tech upgrades to address falling sales, improve customer experience, and upgrade systems.
  • CEO Michael Fidelke:

    “If you're frustrated with our recent performance, we are too, and our entire team is working incredibly hard to return to growth and live up to our full potential.”

• Recent Performance: Fewer shoppers, lower per-shopper spending; Q3 sales down 1.5%, profit outlook cut ([05:36]).

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5. Medicaid’s “Ghost Networks” – The Patient Perspective

[07:25-10:54]

• Key Finding: Many doctors listed by Medicaid insurers haven’t actually seen any Medicaid patients (“ghost network”).
  • Quote:

    “We found significant shares of the physicians who were listed actually had not seen a single one of that insurer's Medicaid patients in the year we looked at 2023.”
    — Ana Wieldy Matthews, [08:46]

• Why Does it Happen?
  • Outdated listings: physicians listed in places they haven’t worked in years.
  • Limited access for Medicaid patients: “Some physicians...limit the number of slots they make available.”
  • Low reimbursement: Doctors struggle to cover costs with Medicaid’s pay rates.
• Impact:
  • Long waits for specialists, especially for children needing autism diagnoses and care ([10:03]).
• Insurer Response:
  • Companies claim they strive for accurate directories, comply with state requirements, but recognize multiple external factors ([10:26]).
• Takeaway: Being “covered” doesn’t mean actual access; ghost networks are a systemic issue.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Vicki Goang on leverage:

  “It kind of works like a double-edged sword.” [04:42]

• President Trump’s Fed threat:

  “If you don't get it fixed fast, I'm going to fire your ass, okay?” [02:11]

• Ana Wieldy Matthews on ghost networks:

  “It seems to imply that you have doctors who are listed but who effectively are not available for various reasons.” [08:46]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Crypto Selloff Overview: 00:18-04:49
• Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, & Market Reaction: 01:06-02:26
• Stock Market & Crypto Context: 02:26-03:16
• Target’s Expansion Plans & Retail Update: 05:17-05:36
• Medicaid Ghost Networks Investigation: 07:25-10:54

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Conclusion

This episode shows the fragility of financial markets in a leveraged, interconnected world, where risky bets can backfire spectacularly. It also exposes the real-world consequences of bureaucratic or profit-driven inefficiencies, as with Medicaid’s “ghost networks.” Through breaking news and expert reporting, it provides a sharp lens on today’s volatile investment landscape and persistent challenges in access to care.

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Transcript

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[Alex Osola]

Leveraged crypto trades have maximized trader gains, but now they're turbocharging a sell off.

[Vicki Goang]

If Bitcoin really jumps, you are very likely to get supercharged returns. However, if Bitcoin falls even just a little bit, you are going to end up in huge losses or maybe even get your entire position wiped out.

[Alex Osola]

Plus, Target says it will invest billions in stores to try to turn around slumping sales and why Medicaid patients are having trouble getting doctor's appointments. It's Wednesday, November 19th. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. This is a PM Edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world. This just in. Nvidia, the world's most valuable publicly listed company, reported record sales in its latest quarter and provided strong guidance. For more on Nvidia's earnings, visit WSJ.com and we'll have more analysis on tomorrow morning's show. Nvidia's latest earnings are one of the key data points for investors concerned about the AI boom and valuations of tech companies, concerns that have weighed on stocks in the past few weeks. Investors are also uncertain about just what the Federal Reserve may do about interest rates at its next meeting in December. The minutes from the October meeting, which are out today, give some insight. They show that divisions over whether the Fed should cut interest rates next month have deepened. There's potentially a narrow majority of policymakers uncomfortable with cutting rates in December. The minutes show that, quote, many officials thought the rate cut wouldn't be warranted next month. A group bigger than the quote, several that thought a reduction could be appropriate. President Trump, at a speech at an investment forum today, said that interest rates were too high and that he wanted to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, but Treasury Secretary Scott Besant has advised against it. He also needled Besant.

[Vicki Goang]

The only thing Scott's blowing it on is the Fed. Because the Fed, the rates are too high, Scott, and if you don't get it fixed fast, I'm going to fire your ass, okay?

[Alex Osola]

Traders cut bets of a December rate cut to around one in three today after the Labor Department said October employment data wouldn't be published until after the Fed's meeting. Investors appear to conclude that without additional jobs data, Fed Officials would be less likely to back a December cut. The three major stock indexes ended higher today. The Nasdaq led gains closing up 0.6%. The S&P and the Dow each broke four session losing streaks. One big part of this market action over the past few weeks has been crypto, which many investors consider a riskier trade. The rally in crypto prices this year was fueled by debt. Traders amped up their gains using leverage, for example, putting down $1 of their own money to gain exposure to $100 of Bitcoin. Now a punishing sell off over the past two weeks is exposing the dangers of those bets.

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

It was a brutal weekend for crypto. Bitcoin sank below $93,000 on Sunday, its lowest level since since April.

[Alex Osola]

The cryptocurrency has struggled to meaningfully recover since a flash crash on October 10th when President Trump reignited his trade war with China. Since its all time high of more than $126,000 hit on October 6, Bitcoin has fallen more than 25%. Vicky Goang, who covers crypto for the Journal, says that one of the popular ways that traders make these bets is through contracts called perpetual futures.

[Vicki Goang]

You can bet on the price of a token to go up or go down continuously without ever having to close out the contract. So unlike traditional futures contract where you have a settlement date, you can keep that contract open forever, theoretically, and the biggest risk comes from the amount of leverage that you can use. So right now in the US on Coinbase you can access up to 10 times of leverage. But overseas on some of the exchanges there, you can access up to a hundred times of leverage. So that can really ramp things up very quickly. So if bitcoin really jumps, you are very likely to get supercharged returns. However, if bitcoin falls even just a little bit, you are going to end up in huge losses or maybe even get your entire position wiped out. So it kind of works like a double edged sword.

[Alex Osola]

Vicki adds that some of the same things that are weighing on investors of traditional stocks could also keep driving crypto prices down.

[Vicki Goang]

We've seen a lot of investors pulling money from bitcoin exchange traded funds and a lot of early bitcoin holders who are called whales, those holding a lot of bitcoin have also been cashing out recently. The other worry is that if the Federal Reserve doesn't cut interest rate in December, that could also really affect bitcoin prices.

[Alex Osola]

Target plans to invest billions of dollars in its stores as it tries to fix its sales slump. Here's incoming CEO Michael Fidelke, speaking on a call with analysts this morning.

[Podcast Sponsor/Advertiser]

If you're frustrated with our recent performance, we are too, and our entire team is working incredibly hard to return to growth and live up to our full potential, fidelke said.

[Alex Osola]

Target wants to improve the customer experience in its stores and its merchandise. It's also investing in better technology and e commerce systems. In recent years, shoppers have complained about messy stores, items missing on shelves and products that weren't exciting. The company said today that fewer shoppers visited its stores in its most recent quarter and that shoppers who did come spent less. Sales in the third quarter fell one and a half percent and the company cut its profit outlook for the year. Target shares fell 2.8% today, leaving shares down by about a third for the year, and we're exclusively reporting that McKinsey named 224 people as partners. While one of the smallest classes in recent years, numbers of new partners have been coming down from the pandemic years as the consulting firm looks to tighten its leadership ranks and change how it's managed. Larry Summers has resigned from the board of OpenAI after communications between him and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public last week. Summers says he's grateful for the opportunity to have served and looks forward to following OpenAI's progress. Summers is a former treasury secretary and a former president of Harvard University, where he still teaches. Harvard says it's conducting a review of the interactions with Epstein coming up. Medicaid insurers make it seem like there are lots of doctors available, so why is it so hard for patients to see one? That's after the break.

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[Alex Osola]

In Ukraine Kyiv says it used long range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russian territory. It's the first time Ukraine has acknowledged deploying the systems, known as atacms, since President Trump lifted restrictions on their use last month. U.S. officials didn't immediately confirm the weapons use, but the move suggests that the US which vetoed such attacks when Trump returned to office, is now willing to authorize them and provide the targeting intelligence that they rely on. The strikes come as Trump has sent Pentagon officials to Ukraine for talks towards ending the war. For many Americans, it can be hard to see a doctor, no matter what kind of health insurance you have. Take my recent search for a pediatric dentist. The handful of Names my insurance sent me don't actually take my insurance. For the more than 70 million low income and disabled Americans on Medicaid, that can be even worse. On the websites of private insurance companies that provide Medicaid coverage, it can look like there are plenty of providers. But when patients go to actually book appointments, they can't get them. For more on insurer's unfulfilled promise, I'm joined now by Ana Wieldy Matthews, who covers health insurance for the Journal. Ana, you say researchers call this problem a ghost network. So insurers say there are providers available, but there actually aren't. Why can't Medicaid patients get appointments? What's going on here?

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

We did a data analysis. When we looked at the networks that the Medicaid insurers had on paper, the ones that sort of they promised to people, we found significant shares of the physicians who were listed actually had not seen a single one of that insurer's Medicaid patients in the year we looked at 2023. And it seems imply that you have doctors who are listed but who effectively are not available for various reasons.

[Alex Osola]

What are some of those reasons?

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

What we found is that in some cases it just seems to be there are some errors. Maybe a physician is listed as being in a place, but he or she actually hasn't been in that place in five years, but they still appear in the listing. And then there will be doctors who are listed, but they just don't seem to really be available if you're calling and you have Medicaid coverage. Some physicians may be in those networks enlisted, but they limit the number of slots they make available to Medicaid patients or they limit the number of Medicaid patients they're willing to see. And in fairness, what the physicians say is that if you're running a practice and you need to make a living, the Medicaid pay is just a lot lower than other kinds of pay that they get to see patients.

[Alex Osola]

What do patients do if they can't get in to see these doctors?

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

One particular area that came up again and again was children who were potentially had autism but needed to see a certain specialist to get diagnosed and a treatment plan put in place. Patients would be waiting many months and even potentially years for that specialty visit. Partly, frankly, because those specialists are often overwhelmed by Medicaid and all patients.

[Alex Osola]

And what do Medicaid insurers say about this?

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

What Medicaid insurers say is that they do everything they can to keep their network information accurate and up to date. And that they try to ensure that the doctors who are listed in their networks are, in fact, seeing patients. They also say that they meet the requirements of the state governments who pay them and that there are a lot of factors around these kinds of things.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter Ana Wieldy Matthews. Thank you, Ana.

[Ana Wieldy Matthews]

Thanks.

[Alex Osola]

And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon. There's a little treat in your feed, the last episode of our economic indicator series. It's about liquor and what the growing sales of small bottles show us about how consumers are feeling. That's in the what's NEWS feed just before this episode. Today's show was produced by Pierre Bienname and Zoe Kulkin with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

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