Last week witnessed a dramatic acceleration in the cryptocurrency market’s prolonged decline, plunging into a steep freefall. Optimists scrambled to find technical indicators or rumors—perhaps about the collapse of a leveraged hedge fund—that might hint at the bear market finally reaching its lowest point.
Ironically, one of the clearest signals that this downturn might be bottoming out could be the enthusiastic reactions from those who have consistently maintained a bearish outlook on bitcoin $BTC, which has surged from zero to over $100,000 during its 16-year history.
Among traditional media outlets, the Financial Times has distinguished itself by persistently opposing bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The London-based publication’s skilled journalists have unwaveringly adopted an anti-bitcoin stance for more than a decade—and this week marked their moment to shine.
The FT’s Jemima Kelly penned an essay titled “Bitcoin is still about $69,000 too high,” perfectly encapsulating both her and her paper’s long-held skepticism toward crypto assets. [The headline was later updated to “$70,000 too high” after bitcoin experienced an overnight price increase.]
Kelly argued that since its inception, bitcoin has been on a doomed trajectory destined to end in failure. She wrote: “This week revealed that the pool of ‘greater fools’ supporting bitcoin is drying up.” She added that crypto’s sustaining myths are unraveling as people realize there is no intrinsic value underpinning something based purely on speculation.
Earlier in the same week, as bitcoin’s price dipped below Strategy (MSTR)’s average treasury cost basis of around $76,000 per coin—a major institutional holder—the FT’s Craig Coben published an article titled “Strategy’s long road to nowhere.”
Coben highlighted how Strategy stock had plummeted roughly 80% from its late-2024 peak and concluded in February 2026: “Management faces no safe options—only various ways to erode shareholder value… it’s difficult to justify investing in an entity whose returns barely break even after five years.”
He likened Strategy’s predicament to “a colossal mastodon trapped in La Brea tar pits,” desperately struggling for escape.
Peter Schiff Weighs In
The persistent bull run seen with gold—even amid recent volatility—has emboldened longtime gold advocate and vocal critic of bitcoin Peter Schiff.
“Michael Saylor claims bitcoin is currently Earth's top-performing asset,” Schiff remarked Tuesday. “Yet Strategy invested over $54 billion into it during five years and now faces approximately 3% losses on those holdings. I anticipate far worse results ahead.”
“At under $76,000 per coin,” he continued, “bitcoin trades at just 15 ounces of gold—a staggering 59% drop since November 2021 highs.” According to Schiff: “Bitcoin remains entrenched within a protracted bear market when measured against gold.”
Addition Observations
“I refuse to pick bottoms,” once stated ex-hedge fund manager Hugh Hendry bluntly. “Monkeys spend all their time picking bottoms.”
This advice suggests caution against trying too hard timing purchases based solely on headlines like those featured by FT recently; however, it seems reasonable now that some form of bottom formation may indeed be unfolding beneath these turbulent conditions.
A further development unlikely ever seen near market peaks involves waning investor enthusiasm toward Tether stablecoin issuance giant amid ongoing turmoil last year when reports surfaced suggesting plans for raising between $15 billion-$20 billion capital at valuations nearing half-a-trillion dollars were underway while markets remained buoyant late last year.
A Financial Times report published Tuesday indicates investors are resisting such lofty valuations; fundraising targets may shrink closer towards only around $5 billion instead.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino clarified these earlier figures represented misunderstandings but confirmed strong interest persisted even at estimated valuations near half-a-trillion dollars nonetheless.
The report noted private investor concerns remain regarding such elevated appraisals though circumstances remain fluid—with any renewed crypto rally capable quickly shifting sentiment once again. </ p>