Yeah, I was certainly surprised to see that.  I wasn't sure which way bitcoin was going to move, but the fact that it was upwards a few thousand dollars means there's likely still a lot of money to burn on risky investments--which means there's still a lot of money floating around out there.

I'd also say that the fact that OP doesn't see a lot of people at malls and shopping centers near where he lives may be deceptive.  People could be buying a lot of stuff online, and obviously that wouldn't be observed by anyone other than the people who bought said stuff.  I'm also really not sure what "liquidity drying up" means in the context of the general economy.  That phrase has meaning in trading markets, of course, but the general public not having enough cash available to them should never be a problem--especially since most transactions are done with smartphones or debit/credit cards.