Mainstream cryptocurrency Bitcoin plummeted earlier this month, crashing down to a sliver over $60,000 — which is well under half of its all-time high value it reached just over four months ago.
It was a bloodbath that was followed by a short moment of reprieve over the weekend, when it rebounded above the $70,000 mark once more.
But don’t call it a comeback. As CNBC reports, the bounce has faded once again, with Bitcoin slipping back down to $66,000 by midday on Wednesday, down 47 percent over its October record high.
Critics watched in glee as the cryptocurrency kept tumbling.
“I’m going to enjoy watching Bitcoin crash,” former White House staffer Claude Taylor tweeted.
Others were unnerved by the drop.
“Not going to lie,” one X user tweeted. “Buying Bitcoin is painful right now. Feels like I’m lighting my money on fire.”
Bitcoin’s woes earlier this month resulted from a surge in liquidations, prompting other traders to follow suit. Uncertainty over president Donald Trump’s pick for Federal Reserve chair also had investors uneasy, with many choosing to bow out of riskier bets like crypto.
The US government reported earlier today that 130,000 jobs were added to the economy in January alone, double the economic forecasts, leading many traders to quickly rein in any expectations of an imminent interest rate cut. However, whether any rate cuts would’ve allowed Bitcoin to surge in the first place remains debatable, as Coindesk points out. For one, the Labor Department also revealed that it had made massive cuts to its 20245-2025 numbers, greatly undermining its latest announcement.
Large selloffs of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which allow investors to get in on Bitcoin bets indirectly through traditional brokerage accounts, added to the pressure.
All eyes are on Bitcoin. Historically, it’s often bounced back after a “halving” event, a pre-scheduled occasion which sees Bitcoin mining rewards being halved, and reaching new all-time highs after. It’s a four-year cycle that most recently restarted following a halving in April 2024.
But whether that will be the case following the latest crash has turned into a heated debate as of late, with some speculating that the “four-year cycle” is “dead,” while crypto bulls claim it’s “intact.”
“2026 I expect to be a bear leg to the four-year cycle,” Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg told CNBC. “We have experienced several four-year cycles since bitcoin has launched and this is no different than any other.”
Others have been far more pessimistic in their outlook, predicting Bitcoin could plummet to as low as $30,000, or even $0.
“This week has shown us that the supply of ‘greater fools’ that bitcoin relies on is drying up,” Financial Times columnist and Bitcoin critic Jemima Kelly argued in a recent piece. “The fairy tales that have been keeping crypto afloat are turning out to be just that. People are beginning to wake up to the fact that there is no floor in the value of something based on nothing more than thin air.”
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