Crypto Bears Have Confirmed Their Control
By Alexander Kuptsikevich | Published: February 23, 2026
Market Overview
Bitcoin experienced a decline, starting the day at $64.2K before recovering to approximately $66K as European trading commenced. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has decreased by about 3.5% in the last 24 hours, settling at $2.25 trillion. This drop reflects a significant loss of $730 billion over the past 100 days, indicating an unprecedented rate of capital outflow from the crypto market.
Current Market Sentiment
The sentiment index has plummeted to 5, matching the lows seen on February 12, marking only the third occurrence of such a low in history. While this level is often seen as a potential buying opportunity for long-term investors, historical patterns suggest that low sentiment does not always align with market price lows. The last significant dip into single digits occurred in June 2022, with recovery only beginning in early 2023.
Bitcoin's Price Action
Despite a brief recovery attempt, Bitcoin's price action indicates that bearish sentiment remains dominant, with resistance levels holding firm. Analysts predict that without a significant shift in market sentiment, Bitcoin could test the $60K support level within the week. If this level fails to hold, further declines to the $50,000–55,000 range may be anticipated by year-end.
Market Dynamics
Retail traders are reportedly buying Bitcoin during dips, while institutional investors have been offloading substantial amounts of the asset over the past five weeks. This trend is compounded by negative on-chain metrics, including declining transaction volumes, new address creation, and overall network growth.
Additionally, mining company Bitdeer has sold its entire stock of bitcoins (approximately 943 BTC) to sustain operations, reflecting the ongoing revenue challenges faced by miners since October 2025.
Future Outlook
Looking ahead, industry experts, including Ballet CEO Bobby Lee, warn of potential further declines in Bitcoin's price, with projections suggesting a drop below $60,000 in the near term. In a positive development, BNP Paribas has initiated a pilot project utilizing Ethereum to explore the tokenization of money market funds, indicating ongoing institutional interest in blockchain technology.