The recent Bitcoin (BTC) price performance may appear subdued, with the leading crypto currently trading below the $65,000 level and sitting around 50% under all-time highs, but a new report from River suggests that adoption trends in 2025 tell a very different story. According to the firm, the network’s growth across institutions, businesses, financial advisors, and even nation-states accelerated sharply over the past year, despite market weakness. Institutional Bitcoin Demand One of the most notable developments has been the scale of institutional accumulation. River reports that institutions acquired approximately 829,000 Bitcoin in 2025 alone. These buyers included corporations, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), investment funds, and government-related entities. Related Reading: History Repeating? XRP Flashes Signal Last Seen Before Explosive 60,000% Rally Investment advisors have also emerged as steady buyers. Registered investment advisors (RIAs), which collectively oversee around $146 trillion in client assets, have been net purchasers of Bitcoin exposure for eight consecutive quarters. Their participation largely began after the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in 2024. Over the past two years, RIAs have invested approximately $1.5 billion per quarter into Bitcoin ETFs, without a single quarter of net selling. Adoption within this group is already widespread: 29 of the top 30 US RIAs hold Bitcoin exposure. However, allocations remain minimal, averaging just 0.008% of assets, leaving considerable room for expansion. Surge In Bank, Corporate And Retail Adoption Traditional banks are also moving closer to the asset. Around 60% of the largest US banks are reportedly developing Bitcoin-related products. Corporate adoption accelerated as well. Public company ownership of Bitcoin increased by 2.5 times in 2025, with businesses collectively ranking as the largest net buyers during the year. Much of this demand came from Bitcoin treasury companies, but River notes that many established corporations have been quietly adding BTC in smaller amounts. The firm expects this type of balance sheet adoption to expand across the S&P 500 in the years ahead. Merchant usage has grown at a rapid pace. In the United States, the number of businesses accepting BTC payments tripled in 2025, while global merchant adoption rose by 74%. River, which serves more than 3,000 businesses across multiple industries, reports that the strongest growth is occurring among small, privately held companies, many of which do not publicly disclose their Bitcoin strategies. Nation-States Expand BTC Holdings Nation-state involvement also increased. Five additional countries became Bitcoin holders in 2025. Among them were Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia, whose sovereign wealth funds acquired exposure, and the Czech Republic. Governments have accumulated Bitcoin through a variety of channels, including state-backed mining operations, direct purchases, ETF exposure, asset seizures, donations, and even hacking-related recoveries. Related Reading: World Liberty Financial Cites ‘Coordinated Attack’ — But Are There Deeper Issues? Looking ahead, River argues that the divergence between price performance and adoption is striking. While the current phase of growth may not immediately translate into dramatic price multiples, it reflects a deeper form of progress: We expect that in the coming years, Bitcoin adoption will not only continue its current trend but meaningfully accelerate. As of this writing, BTC is trading at $64,459, marking losses of 26% and 31% over the past thirty days and year-to-date, respectively. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
A potential final sell-off in Bitcoin is back in focus after market analyst Aaron Dishner warned that the asset appears structurally close to capitulation. Based on cycle timing, historical drawdowns, and converging technical signals, he argues the market may be nearing its last downside move before a longer-term bottom forms. He urges investors to brace for volatility as this “bottom year” unfolds. Bitcoin’s Past Fractal Points To One More Flush Dishner’s framework centers on a structural comparison to May 2022. On the weekly BTC/USDT chart, he outlines a sequence mirroring prior bear market endings: a major high, a liquidation-driven drop, a failed relief rally forming a bear flag, and a breakdown into new lows. After that breakdown, the price typically moves sideways before a final aggressive sell-off. Related Reading: AI Explains What’s Driving The Ethereum Price Volatility, Can It Rise Above $3,000 Again? He projects a downside target around $35,000–$40,000, aligning with historical drawdowns of 70% to 75% from all-time highs. Previous cycles support this range: the 2013–2015 decline lasted about 59 weeks with an 87% drawdown; the 2017–2018 cycle spanned roughly a year with an 84% decline; and the 2021–2022 bear phase retraced around 77% over 54 weeks. Based on this pattern, he expects the current cycle to extend at least 52 weeks from its peak, placing a potential bottom near October 2026. Moreover, weekly RSI has reached deeply oversold territory, levels historically associated with capitulation events such as late 2018 and the COVID crash. While not at the most extreme historical lows, RSI is within the zone that previously preceded large downside wicks and sharp sell-offs. Volume metrics also show deterioration. On-balance volume across major exchanges reflects persistent distribution, resembling conditions seen before prior cycle lows. The broader takeaway is that price structure, momentum, and volume are converging toward what Dishner describes as a final flush. Stablecoin Dominance And S&P Risk Add Pressure Dishner also highlights combined stablecoin dominance, specifically USDT and USDC. Historically, sharp increases in stablecoin dominance have coincided with heavy Bitcoin sell-offs. He notes dominance is approaching resistance near 13%, and previous breakout clusters preceded steep downside moves in BTC. RSI behavior on the dominance chart mirrors pre-capitulation setups from 2022. In that cycle, a spike in dominance aligned with Bitcoin’s June decline, followed by weeks of choppy consolidation before recovery attempts. Related Reading: Dogecoin’s Third Time Breakout Could Send Price On 2,000% Rally To $2 Macro risk compounds the outlook. Dishner points to bearish divergence signals on the S&P 500, referencing clusters of downside momentum warnings seen near prior equity tops. An 8% pullback is viewed as plausible, with a deeper 20%–25% correction representing a high-impact scenario. In his assessment, a significant equity drawdown would transmit stress into digital assets, intensifying margin pressure and accelerating Bitcoin’s decline. Even after capitulation, history suggests the market may not immediately reverse. Prior cycles required 19 to 40 weeks of sideways or unstable price action before sustained recovery began. If the pattern holds, Bitcoin may be entering its final sell-off phase, potentially bottoming around October. Until then, Dishner maintains conditions remain structurally bearish, with elevated risk across crypto and traditional markets. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
Shedding over 17,000 BTC worth of bitcoin ETF shares, Brevan Howard was the firm that reduced its exposure most.
Bitcoin is heading toward an uncomfortable milestone, a potential fifth consecutive monthly decline if February closes in the red, and the setup is starting to look less like a crypto-specific drawdown and more like a macro-driven repricing. This five-month losing streak would be notable in the post-ETF era and would also be Bitcoin’s longest stretch […]
The post Bitcoin slides toward fifth straight monthly loss as $4.5B ETF outflows put $58,000 on the line appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN), long recognized as a cryptocurrency trading platform, is expanding its ambitions to become a full-service financial exchange. The company has launched stock and ETF trading for users in the United States and announced a new partnership with Yahoo! Finance. The company now aims at making it easier for investors to add …
Crypto markets are under pressure once more. Bitcoin is hovering near $62,900, Ethereum is trading around $1,800, and XRP has slipped toward $1.32. The total crypto market cap has dropped to roughly $2.18 trillion, with fear back at extreme levels. But this time, the conversation is not just about macro conditions or rate policy. A …
XRP is entering a stretch where on-chain cost basis, leverage, and flow data may matter more than broad market narratives. The token is approaching a critical point after a sharp rise in realized losses, with on-chain activity showing investors moving coins below their purchase prices. That is a classic capitulation signal. It often appears near […]
The post XRP ETF inflows collapse 93% as price capitulates, will this cause a reset or repair phase? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The Clarity Act Crypto 2026 narrative just took a punch to the gut. Polymarket odds collapsed from 82% to 53%, and suddenly the industry’s long-awaited regulatory “holy grail” looks like another stalled promise. For months, firms across crypto and traditional finance treated this bill as the framework that would finally divide oversight between the U.S. …
Bitcoin flipped a small but notable technical switch this week when the Coinbase premium moved back above zero, ending a run of negative readings that began after heavy selling on February 6. Related Reading: XRP Fell Nearly 70% — Could History Repeat With An 835% Surge? Coinbase Premium Flips Above Zero According to market data published on February 23, 2026, Bitcoin was trading around $66,150 on Binance futures at one point, showing a brief hourly uptick of 0.40%. Yet other spot indexes told a different slice of the story: CoinMarketCap listed BTC near $65,070 and flagged a roughly 3% drop for the day. Those gaps are normal: futures, spot feeds, and aggregate trackers can diverge. What matters here is the premium’s direction — it had been negative for much of February and then crossed into positive territory. Coinbase Bitcoin Premium has flipped positive for the first time since the Feb 6th bottom. It looks like institutions are done with selling for now. pic.twitter.com/rUYgxO2Fo8 — Ted (@TedPillows) February 23, 2026 Why Traders Care About The Premium Coinbase is widely used by big US buyers, so a positive premium is read by many traders as a hint that domestic spot demand is outpacing offshore pressure. But a flip above zero is only a starting signal. The size of the spread, how long it holds, and whether exchange inflows back up the move are the things that turn a signal into a trend. Small, short-lived flips can be caused by temporary liquidity differences or quick arbitrage trades. Larger, sustained spreads are the ones that tend to matter to portfolio managers. Geopolitics And Market Mood Market watchers are also pointing to broader factors. Rising tensions between the US and Iran, along with talk about tariff adjustments linked to US President Donald Trump, have driven investors toward safer assets in recent sessions. That mood has at times pushed BTC below important technical cushions near $65,000, and some sessions saw brief dips under $64,000 before a few calm windows allowed minor rebounds. When fear spikes, crypto often feels it first. Derivatives, Volume, And Technical Levels Futures activity on Binance and other platforms stayed busy, even if volume didn’t show the sort of surge that precedes big breakouts. Reports put daily trading volume near $45.71 billion while market cap sat close to $1.30 trillion. Funding rates, open interest, and exchange inflows are being monitored closely; each can either confirm or undercut the message from the Coinbase premium. A rising open interest that aligns with a growing premium would be more persuasive than a lone spread tick. Related Reading: Bitcoin Buying Spree Nears Century Mark, Saylor Hints Encouraging Signs A Coinbase premium turning positive offers a hopeful signal after weeks below zero, but it doesn’t confirm a sustained rally. Investors will be tracking how large the spread is, whether Coinbase sees significant inflows, and if funding rates and open interest support the move. Traders are likely to wait through the next sessions for clear signs before considering the market stabilized. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
The Bitcoin price is under pressure again. After weeks of choppy trading, selling has picked up, and sentiment has turned sharply negative. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 5, placing the market deep into “Extreme Fear” territory. Readings this low are rare. They usually show up during panic-driven sell-offs or extended downtrends. …
The significant paper loss highlights the volatility and risk associated with large-scale corporate investments in cryptocurrencies.
The post Saylor’s Strategy sees over $9B loss as Bitcoin drops toward $63K appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
After closing the week below a crucial support level, Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen below the $65,000 support for the first time since the early February crash, reaching a two-week low of $64,152. Amid this performance, some analysts have warned that the flagship crypto could be on the “cusp of bearish acceleration,” warning that another major crash could be around the corner. Related Reading: Bitcoin Mirrors Software Stocks More Than Any Other Market — Here’s Why Bitcoin Loses The 200-Week EMA On Monday, analyst Rekt Capital highlighted that Bitcoin produced a “historically pivotal” development after closing last week below the 200-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which currently sits “at the center of a major confluence zone.” Notably, the 200-week EMA aligns with BTC’s Post-Halving Re-accumulation Range highs, located between $66,000-$71,000. Meanwhile, the Post-Halving Re-accumulation Range lows, around the $58,000-$60,000 levels, define the broader structure of BTC’s current range. Over the past three weeks, the cryptocurrency attempted to develop a demand region around this area, which was previously a major supply area. However, this level hasn’t historically been a structurally reliable support for BTC’s price, the analyst asserted, noting that it has previously acted as a 10-month resistance. “In the current structure, we have seen three consecutive weeks of elevated sell-side volume in this region, with limited meaningful buy-side response,” he explained. Per the post, this imbalance has led to a weekly close below the 200-week EMA, losing it as support in this timeframe. This suggests that a “continuation of Bearish Acceleration into its second wave” could follow soon. The analyst cautioned that now that price has closed the week below this critical level, there is a “strong probability that Bitcoin presses back toward the underside of that EMA to attempt turning it into new resistance.” If the underside retest holds, the structure would shift from defending the support to confirming the resistance at this level. He warned that if that level begins to act as resistance, downside continuation will become increasingly probable. BTC’s Bottom Targets $30,000 Rekt Capital also noted that BTC’s recent performance aligns closely with its price action in prior cycles. As he detailed, in 2018 and 2022, a weekly close below the 200-week EMA acted as a structural trigger to the second wave of bearish acceleration. “Bitcoin would attempt to reclaim the level, turn it into resistance, and then dissipate lower. That pattern is now attempting to replicate itself,” he asserted. Similarly, Ali Martinez pointed to the cryptocurrency’s historical performance, but on the three-day chart, affirming that this has been one of BTC’s key timeframes from a macro perspective. According to Martinez’s post, market observers must watch the upcoming interaction of the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), as the crossover between these two indicators on the three-day timeframe has historically preceded the final leg down of the bear market. Bitcoin dropped around 50%-72% from its 2013, 2017, and 2021 cycle tops before its death crosses took place in late 2014 and 2018, and mid 2022. Following the 50-day and 200-day SMAs crossovers, the flagship crypto experienced another 45%-52% decline. Related Reading: Investors In Trump Family Memecoins Record $4.3 Billion In Losses As Tokens Sink Now, BTC has fallen more than 52% from its October 2025 peak and is approaching a potential death cross on the three-day chart by the end of February. “If history repeats — even partially — this could signal the beginning of the final leg down of this cycle,” the analyst warned. Based on this, Martinez predicted that another 30%-50% correction from current levels could follow, placing the cryptocurrency’s target near the $30,000-$40,000 supports. “If the cross confirms, it becomes a level to take very seriously,” he concluded. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
In six months, the Bitcoin price has crashed by around 50%, dropping below $64,000 at the start of this month. Naturally, this has triggered a cascading event, with devastating effects on the rest of the market, and questions about what could be driving the decline. With no notable event driving the crash, as was seen in 2022 with the crash of the FTX crypto exchange, the simple answer has pointed to one thing: large investors are selling. Corporate Holders Are Getting Out Of Bitcoin In an X post, Coin Bureau highlighted an interesting trend among corporate Bitcoin holders that could explain the sustained decline the digital asset has suffered in recent times. According to the chart shared on the post, these large corporate holders have been dumping their holdings. Related Reading: Ready For A 443% Dogecoin Move? The Meme Coin Just Touched A Historically Explosive Level For the better part of 2025, there had been a clear trend of accumulation among corporate buyers. Sometimes, the buying trend would be sustained for weeks before a sell-off trend would be recorded. However, this is quickly changing as the last few weeks have been dominated by dumping. The post showed that in the last three weeks, there has been no buying done. Rather, corporate investors have been dumping BTC on the market. For context, the longest selling streak among these large investors recorded in history was two weeks before buying began again. However, at the time of writing, only outflows have dominated the treasuries of these companies, marking a new record since companies began buying Bitcoin in 2020. Given this, it is possible that the accumulation trend that drove Bitcoin to new all-time highs in 2025 may have ended. Data from CoinShares also corroborates this sell-off trend. In its Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report, it shows that in just the last week alone, Bitcoin lost $215.3 million to outflows from digital asset funds, thereby leading the sell-offs. Related Reading: Analyst Predicts The Ethereum Price Bottom With A Marked Path To $15,000 In the same vein, Ethereum suffered outflows of 36.5 million, and multi-asset funds saw $32.5 million in outflows. Interestingly, though, the likes of XRP and Solana continue to see inflows, despite their poor performance in the market. Given this trend, it shows that corporate investors are looking to altcoins for likely higher profit margins compared to Bitcoin. As supply continues to pile up in the market, it is likely that the Bitcoin price will continue to fall until buying picks up once again. Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com
The tumbling crypto market still largely reflects a leverage flush-out rather than a full-blown capitulation, one analyst noted.
On-chain data shows the Bitcoin short-term holders continue to capitulate as they are realizing net losses of $0.48 billion every day. Bitcoin Short-Term Holder Net Realized Profit/Loss Is Notably Red According to data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the Net Realized Profit/Loss has been negative for the Bitcoin short-term holders recently. This indicator measures, as its name suggests, the net amount of profit or loss that BTC investors are harvesting through their selling. Related Reading: Another $438M In Crypto Longs Gone As Bitcoin, Altcoins Pull Back The version of the metric that’s of relevance here specifically tracks this for the short-term holders (STHs), a BTC investor cohort that includes only buyers from the last 155 days. Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell them in the future. Since the STHs represent the new entrants into the market, their resilience tends to be low, and they may take part in panic selling during market volatility. Recently, Bitcoin has faced a major drawdown and the STHs have naturally reacted to it. Below is the chart shared by Glassnode that shows how the 7-day exponential moving average (EMA) of the Net Realized Profit/Loss has fluctuated for this group during the recent volatility. As is visible in the graph, the Bitcoin STH Net Realized Profit/Loss saw a deep plunge into the negative territory during the price downturn that followed the October high, implying realized losses notably outweighed the profits. In January, the metric recovered toward the neutral mark as the market saw an uplift, but the price drawdown since the end of the month has again taken the indicator to a highly red level. On February 6th, the STH Net Realized Profit/Loss fell to a value of -$1.24 billion per day, notably lower than the red peak observed last year. Since this low, the metric has risen a bit and today, it’s sitting at -$0.48 billion per day. “While the intensity has cooled, the broader regime still signals a market under pressure, with participants in the base formation phase continuing to capitulate,” explained the analytics firm. In some other news, the Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Gap has been negative recently, as highlighted by CryptoQuant author IT Tech in an X post. The Coinbase Premium Gap tracks the difference between the Bitcoin spot price listed on Coinbase (USD pair) and that on Binance (USDT pair). From the chart, it’s apparent that the metric has maintained at red values since mid-December, indicating that Coinbase users have been applying a higher amount of selling pressure than Binance traders. Related Reading: Bitcoin Extreme Fear Streak Extends To 22 Days As Price Struggles Coinbase is mainly used by US-based investors, especially the large institutional entities, so this trend can be a sign that there isn’t much demand for BTC among them right now. BTC Price Bitcoin has been slipping deeper as its price is now trading around $64,000. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin continues to struggle below the $65,000 level as persistent selling pressure weighs on market sentiment. Price action has remained fragile in recent weeks, with volatility elevated and traders showing limited conviction amid tightening liquidity conditions and broader macro uncertainty. While intermittent rebounds have occurred, they have so far failed to establish sustained upside momentum, leaving Bitcoin locked in a cautious consolidation phase below a key psychological threshold. Related Reading: XRP’s Brutal Supply Compression Signals A Repeat Of The 2024 Expansion A recent CryptoQuant report highlights a notable structural development involving StrategyB, formerly known as MicroStrategy. It has now been more than six years since the company began its Bitcoin accumulation strategy, targeting roughly 5% of the asset’s total supply. The initiative, driven by CEO Michael Saylor — one of Bitcoin’s most vocal long-term advocates — reflects a conviction that BTC could eventually surpass the $1 million mark over time. To pursue this objective, StrategyB has executed what many consider the largest dollar-cost averaging program in Bitcoin’s history, notably without selling any BTC since inception. Annual investment figures illustrate the scale of this effort: $1.1 billion in 2020, $2.57 billion in 2021, $276 million in 2022, $1.9 billion in 2023, $21.9 billion in 2024, $22.4 billion in 2025, and $4.1 billion so far in 2026. StrategyB’s Aggressive Bitcoin Accumulation And Market Implications According to the report, 2025 marked a record year for StrategyB in terms of capital deployed, with more than $22.4 billion invested into Bitcoin accumulation. The data suggests that 2026 is currently following a comparable trajectory. If this pace continues, the firm could surpass last year’s record, further consolidating its position as one of the largest institutional holders of BTC. At present, Bitcoin is trading below StrategyB’s estimated realized price, which sits near $76,000. This metric reflects the company’s average acquisition cost across its holdings. StrategyB reportedly holds approximately 717,131 BTC, equivalent to around 3.4% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply. Such concentration highlights the scale of institutional participation now embedded in the market structure. However, the interpretation of this data requires caution. Trading below a large holder’s realized price does not automatically imply undervaluation; realized price is a cost-basis metric, not a valuation model. Market conditions, liquidity flows, and macroeconomic variables remain dominant drivers of price direction. Still, the broader takeaway is notable: even major institutional participants often rely on relatively simple accumulation strategies such as dollar-cost averaging. Whether that approach proves optimal in current conditions depends on individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and broader market context. Related Reading: The Great Bitcoin Handover: $8.2 Billion BTC Swamps Binance As Retail Momentum Fades Weekly Breakdown Below Key Moving Averages Signals Structural Weakness Bitcoin’s weekly structure has deteriorated materially over the past several sessions. After failing to sustain acceptance above the $90,000–$100,000 region, price rolled over and has now retraced toward the mid-$60,000 area. The latest weekly close near $66,000 places BTC decisively below the 50-week and 100-week moving averages, both of which are beginning to slope downward. This shift in positioning is technically significant. During the 2024–2025 advance, these moving averages acted as dynamic support, consistently absorbing pullbacks and reinforcing trend continuation. Their loss now converts them into overhead resistance, limiting upside unless reclaimed with strong volume confirmation. Related Reading: Ethereum Breaks Fhe Final Whale Floor In A 2018-Style Capitulation: What To Expect The 200-week moving average, currently tracking near the mid-$50,000 zone, remains the last major structural support on this timeframe. Historically, sustained closes below the 50-week average following a cycle peak have signaled prolonged corrective phases rather than shallow consolidations. Volume has expanded during the recent breakdown, suggesting distribution rather than simple low-liquidity drift. The sharp selloff from the $90,000 region to sub-$70,000 levels reflects decisive supply entering the market. For bulls to regain control, BTC would need to reclaim the $75,000–$80,000 range and reestablish higher weekly highs. Until then, the weekly trend favors caution, with momentum tilted toward continued consolidation or further downside exploration. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
A sharp drop in XRP has rattled short-term holders, but some onlookers warn the sell-off may be setting a base for a much larger rebound. Reports say the token slid hard after peaking last year, and a mix of on-chain metrics and chart patterns has traders weighing whether this is panic or opportunity. Related Reading: Bitcoin Buying Spree Nears Century Mark, Saylor Hints Deep Losses And A Familiar Pattern According to price data, XRP fell from a high near $3.65 to roughly $1.38, a move that wiped out a large chunk of recent gains and produced a 60% pullback from the July peak. Traders watched as realized losses spiked, with roughly $1.90 billion recorded over one week — a level that matches past capitulation events. When big losses pile up in a short span, selling pressure can be exhausted and the market is often left with fewer weak hands. Reports note that the token is approaching a higher-time-frame demand area between $0.85 and $0.65, a zone that acted as resistance before the rally in late 2024. In prior cycles, that same area turned into a multi-year accumulation range where long-term buyers stepped in. $XRP Crashed 69% And Everyone Is Panicking: Last Time This Happened It Pumped 835%#XRP Is Trading Around $1.39 After Breaking Down From $2 Support Zone. Currently Retesting The HTF Demand Level Which Previously Acted As Multi-Year Accumulation Zone Upper Boundary. Already… pic.twitter.com/ZVKY1nwLD4 — Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) February 22, 2026 From Panic To Jubilation Analyst Crypto Patel has highlighted those historical signals on social feeds, arguing the setup looks familiar and may not be permanent panic. He warned that XRP has dropped 69% and panic is spreading, but the last time it fell this much, it surged 835%. Bitcoin Moves Provide Context Across the broader market, Bitcoin’s swings have been a backdrop to altcoin pain. Recent sessions saw BTC shift from the high $66,000s down toward the mid-$60,000s, and that kind of volatility tends to drag other coins along. When BTC retreats, altcoins often fall harder, and XRP was no exception. The interplay between Bitcoin’s price action and altcoin flows is a practical reminder that macro moves still matter even when token-specific stories dominate headlines. Reports have recorded quick selling from short-term holders after price broke below $2, a psychological level many treated as support. That drop accelerated the move to near $1.11 in early February, which represented close to 70% drawdown from the cycle top. Related Reading: XRP Flashes Rare On-Chain Signal That Once Preceded 114% Gains What Traders Are Watching Next A slice of the market exited positions in frustration. Those exits show up cleanly on-chain as realized losses, which can mark the final wave of sellers before stability returns. From a technical view, staying above the lower bound of the $0.65 to $0.85 band on longer timeframes would be taken as constructive by many. If that holds, a phased recovery could bring prior resistance levels back into play — around $2, then $3, and beyond. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin has now fallen below $634,000, adding fresh pressure to an already fragile market structure. What previously looked like a sideways range near $65K is now testing the lower boundaries of support, increasing the risk of a deeper correction. The recent move lower pushed BTC decisively through the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level near $64,551, a …
The crypto market took a sharp hit overnight, with Bitcoin falling below $65,000 and triggering a wave of forced liquidations across derivatives markets. In just one hour, more than $230 million in leveraged long positions were wiped out. Over the past 24 hours, total crypto liquidations climbed to roughly $438 million, with Bitcoin accounting for …
Bitcoin price failed to stay above $66,000 and dipped further. BTC is now consolidating losses and might struggle to recover above $66,000. Bitcoin started a fresh decline and traded below the $66,000 support. The price is trading below $65,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $66,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might dip again if it trades below the $63,500 and $63,200 levels. Bitcoin Price Breaks Key Support Bitcoin price failed to remain stable above the $66,500 zone. BTC started a fresh decline and traded below the $66,000 support zone. There was a push below $65,000. The price even spiked below $64,000. A low was formed at $63,351, and the price is now correcting some losses. There was a move above $64,000, but the price is still well below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $68,652 swing high to the $63,351 low. Bitcoin is now trading below $66,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. If the price remains stable above $64,000, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $64,600 level. The first key resistance is near the $65,250 level. A close above the $65,250 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $66,000 resistance or the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $68,652 swing high to the $63,351 low. Any more gains might send the price toward the $66,800 level. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $66,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The next barrier for the bulls could be $67,500 and $67,700. Another Decline In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $65,250 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $64,000 level. The first major support is near the $63,500 level. The next support is now near the $63,200 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $62,650 support in the near term. The main support now sits at $62,000, below which BTC might struggle to recover in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $64,000, followed by $63,500. Major Resistance Levels – $65,000 and $66,000.
Michael Saylor, the CEO of software company MicroStrategy, has affirmed that quantum computers pose negligible risk to the security systems of the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. Bitcoin-targetted quantum computer attacks are at least a decade away Speaking at Natalie Brunell’s Coin Stories podcast, Saylor referred to news of quantum computing risks to Bitcoin as a “fear …
Data shows cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges have racked up liquidations as Bitcoin and other assets have gone through a price retrace. Crypto Liquidations Have Crossed $500 Million During The Past Day According to data from CoinGlass, a massive amount of liquidations have piled up on digital asset derivatives platforms following the latest market volatility. “Liquidation” refers to the forceful closure that any open contract undergoes after it has incurred a loss of a specific degree (as defined by the exchange). Related Reading: Bitcoin Extreme Fear Streak Extends To 22 Days As Price Struggles Fast, violent moves tend to catch a large number of contracts off guard at once, so mass liquidation events tend to accompany them. The same has been the case with the volatility shown by Bitcoin and the company during the past day. As the table below shows, about $507 million in derivatives contracts have been liquidated over the last 24 hours. $438 million or 86% of the liquidations involved long contracts. This overwhelming majority in the leverage flush from the bullish bets is naturally because of the fact that the sharpest move inside this window was one to the downside. Bitcoin went from $67,700 to a low of $64,300 within the matter of a few hours. As the market has rebounded since this plunge, some short investors have also been liquidated, with their 24-hour liquidation figure sitting at $69 million. In terms of the individual assets, Bitcoin was once again the biggest contributor to the derivatives flush, with $233 million in contracts involved. Below is a heatmap that shows how liquidations have looked for the other coins. On-chain analytics firm Santiment has made an X post discussing the volatility, noting that it has caused a drop in the Bitcoin Open Interest. This indicator measures the total amount of positions related to BTC (in USD) that are currently open on all derivatives exchanges. As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Open Interest plunged to $19.5 billion following the event, which is about half the level that the metric was at during the January peak of $38.3 billion. The indicator’s decline signifies a mix of liquidations and investors choosing to pull back on risk. Related Reading: Bitcoin Big-Money Exits: Large-Holder Supply Hits Lowest Since May 2025 In the same chart, Santiment has also attached the data for the Negative Sentiment, a metric that tracks the degree of bearish sentiment around BTC on the major social media platforms. This indicator has shot up alongside the price decline and hit a two-week high, implying a spike in FUD among retail investors. Bitcoin Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $66,300, down nearly 5% over the past week. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $64,000 on February 23 at 20:15 UTC to trade at $63,950, a level last witnessed in late 2024. The flagship’s coin fear & greed index read 5/100, indicating extreme fear. Source: Trading View The crypto market’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still in the region of oversold, as BTC’s open interest …
Bitcoin’s recent wobble has traders on edge, but the picture is not all one-way. Reports note heavy losses for late buyers, and on-chain figures show real money changing hands as positions are forced closed. Markets moved fast; the mood did too. Related Reading: XRP Flashes Rare On-Chain Signal That Once Preceded 114% Gains Fear And Greed Plunges To Single Digits According to CoinGlass, more than 144,839 traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with total liquidations of over $508 million and about 92% tied to long bets. Reports from Alternative.me put the Crypto Fear and Greed Index at 5 out of 100 — a reading that has turned up only three times since 2018. That level screams panic. Yet panic often clears out the most fragile holders and leaves room for steadier hands to step in. Realized Losses And Capitulation Signals Based on reports from Glassnode, recent investors are still booking losses at a high rate — the seven-day moving average for net realized losses was close to $500 million per day. That kind of selling pressure looks brutal on a chart. At the same time, selling at scale can mark an end to a sharp phase of decline, because it reduces the number of people left to sell when prices fall further. Bitcoin Price Action In the middle of all this, price moves matter. Bitcoin rose to roughly $68,600 on Saturday, but it slid back and touched the mid-$64,000s after a wave of exits. Traders are watching a range that formed after the early-February drop to about $60,000. The coin remains roughly 48% below an October high of $126,000 and about 5.5% under the 2021 peak near $69,000. News tied to US-Iran tension and general risk-off trading pushed some traders toward safer assets, which added fuel to the pullback. Sharpe Ratio Hits Unusual Low Analyst Michaël van de Poppe shared a chart showing Bitcoin’s Sharpe Ratio at -38.4. That metric measures returns relative to risk; a number this low is rare. This is a phenomenal chart. It shows the Sharpe Ratio for #Bitcoin in the short term. The key takeaway: the Sharpe Ratio has dropped to -38.38, which historically has marked “Low Risk” accumulation zones. The red circles highlight every time the Sharpe Ratio dipped to similar… pic.twitter.com/Nwp7SkfVP4 — Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 21, 2026 Historically, extreme negative readings have sometimes lined up with moments when buying risk felt lower, because potential downside had been squeezed out by big selloffs. That does not guarantee a rebound, but it changes how investors view the trade-off between reward and risk. Related Reading: Political Meme Coins Implode: TRUMP Down 92%, MELANIA Nearly Wiped Out Where This Could Lead Some technical watchers warn that more tests of support could happen if uncertainty continues. Others point to the combination of heavy liquidations, deep fear readings, and large realized losses as signals that a base might be forming. Pasts on-chain figures show that panic and steep losses often precede quieter periods where buyers return slowly. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin’s long-term price outlook is a major talking point, with veteran trader Peter Brandt recently floating a bold timeline for when the leading cryptocurrency could hit $250,000. The comment came in response to a chart shared on X by NBA legend Scottie Pippen, who showed how Bitcoin’s current structure looks familiar. Brandt not only agreed with Pippen, he also attached a projection that points to a specific year for a when the Bitcoin price will eventually trade above $250,000. Power Law Projection Points To 2029 Breakout According to veteran financial analyst Peter Brandt, Bitcoin is on track to setting off to $250,000-plus by late 2029. He only noted this with a simple sentence, but the projection to $250,000 is visible in the weekly candlestick price chart he shared alongside his prediction. Related Reading: Don’t Fall For The Bitcoin Trap: Analyst Explains Why Recovery To $76,000 Is Not A Good Thing The chart shared by Brandt shows Bitcoin trading within a broad upward-sloping channel that has defined its macrostructure for over a decade. The lower boundary, highlighted in green, appears to act as a recurring support zone during major consolidations. The upper red band connects the different peaks over the years. The current structure is playing out in a way where Bitcoin has been trending downwards after a strong multi-year advance that peaked in late 2025. Brandt’s projection extends the channel forward into 2029, where the middle band of the channel intersects near the $250,000 price level. $250,000 is a recurring Bitcoin price target among crypto participants, although the predictions have different timelines as to when Bitcoin will reach this price level. For instance, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee is also of the notion that Bitcoin will trade at $250,000 soon, although this came with a warning. Analysts at Galaxy Digital have also floated the same target, although on a faster timeline around 2027. That projection, however, came with expectations of an unstable 2026 before any strong rally. Scottie Pippen’s 2020 Comparison Brandt’s forecast was triggered by Scottie Pippen’s post comparing Bitcoin’s current setup to its 2020 structure. In Pippen’s side-by-side chart comparison, the left panel shows Bitcoin’s CME Futures in mid-2020 forming a base before launching into the rally that culminated in the 2021 highs. Related Reading: Bitcoin Ready To Bounce Again? The Major Accumulation Trend You Should Be Aware Of The right panel, which shows current price action in 2026, depicts a similar consolidation pattern above a green support zone. The visual comparison suggests that Bitcoin is now in a comparable pre-breakout phase like it was in 2020. In 2020, Bitcoin consolidated for months before breaking into a parabolic move. As such, although the long-term view is bullish, there’s a high probability that Bitcoin will continue to consolidate around its current price level before going on an aggressive 2021-style rally. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is consolidating below $70,000. The leading cryptocurrency is currently trading at $66,150, having lost 1.8% of its value in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin's weekend selloff led to about $100 billion in crypto market value losses during the reporting period and was triggered by a sudden burst of tariff policy uncertainty. Over the last 24 hours, BTC price had slipped below $65,000, pulling the broader crypto market down with it. The top digital asset had recovered above $66,000 […]
The post Bitcoin rebounds after $100B tariff whiplash — but $60k options price target hints at bigger risk appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Michael Saylor’s quiet hint this weekend put a spotlight on a methodical habit that has quietly shaped corporate crypto moves for years. Related Reading: XRP Flashes Rare On-Chain Signal That Once Preceded 114% Gains Michael Saylor posted a chart with the caption “The Orange Century,” and through that single image he signaled what many traders already suspected: the company he chairs is poised to make another buy. Strategy has been buying Bitcoin in steady doses since 2020. Reports note the firm has completed 99 buys so far. That makes the next purchase the 100th. Short headline. Big milestone. The buy count matters because it shows a pattern more than it shows timing. Buy Pace And Signals The image Saylor shared on the X platform is the same type of chart the company has shown before when a purchase was near. Other market watchers read the post as a likely prelude to actual buy orders. The company has not issued a formal press release about a specific date. The Orange Century. pic.twitter.com/8zelTduTPC — Michael Saylor (@saylor) February 22, 2026 Recent Activity And Holdings According to public records, the firm now holds about 717,131 BTC at an average cost near $76,027 per coin. Market prices have drifted lower from that average. Bitcoin was trading around $65,050 at the time of the reports. That gap has put the firm’s cost basis in the red on paper. Still, buying has continued; the company has added BTC for many consecutive weeks in 2026 and showed no obvious pause even as prices moved down. Shareholders And Market Reaction Reports note that since the initial stake was bought in August 2020, the firm’s stock has climbed sharply. Yahoo Finance data shows a rise from roughly $12.44 then to about $131.05 at the time this report was made, an increase of around 950%. That price swing has made the strategy attractive to some investors who wanted exposure to Bitcoin through a public stock. Others worry about concentration risk when a single asset so heavily shapes a company’s balance sheet. How This Fits Broader Trends Other firms have copied pieces of this playbook. Moving treasury cash into Bitcoin has become one option among several for companies that want to shield some value from inflation or to chase upside tied to crypto. Related Reading: Political Meme Coins Implode: TRUMP Down 92%, MELANIA Nearly Wiped Out That has had a ripple effect: when big public holders buy, it can shift short-term flows and signal confidence to certain corners of the market. At the same time, critics argue that using corporate coffers to buy a volatile asset brings fresh governance questions. The next move will be watched closely. If the 100th buy happens, it will be seen as a reaffirmation of a strategy that has been consistent for years. Observers will then parse whether the purchase is symbolic, tactical, or simply another step in a long, steady accumulation. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Michael Saylor’s company “Strategy” continues its aggressive Bitcoin acquisition, adding 592 BTC for around 39.8 million dollars at an average price of $67,286 per coin. This latest buy reflects confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term store of value. As of February 22, 2026, Strategy holds 717 722 BTC, purchased for roughly 54.56 billion dollars with an average …