On February 16th, Bitcoin experienced a significant decline, slipping beneath the $68,000 level after briefly surpassing $70,000. Since then, it has been confined within a tight trading band ranging from $65,000 to $72,000. The overall market mood is heavily pessimistic as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index signals extreme fear among investors.
Bitcoin Loses Weekend Momentum
During a turbulent trading day on Monday, February 16th, Bitcoin gave back its weekend gains by dropping sharply below $68,000 at one point. Data from Bitstamp revealed that the top cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low of approximately $67,268 just hours after reaching near the $70K milestone—a nearly 4% decrease in value. This reversal occurred shortly after Bitcoin had climbed above $71,700 on Sunday night and temporarily erased losses accumulated over the prior week.
This sudden downturn has left Bitcoin stuck in a familiar consolidation zone between $65K and $72K—a range it has occupied since early February. As bearish sentiment intensifies across markets, the wider crypto ecosystem struggles to find any positive catalysts capable of counteracting persistent selling pressure that has dominated much of this month.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index slightly improved to 11 following last week’s dip into single digits but remains deeply entrenched in “extreme fear” territory. Historically speaking, such depressed readings tend to indicate limited chances for immediate upward breakouts. This weak momentum may prompt cautious investors lacking conviction to liquidate their holdings further exacerbating downward trends.
Market perspectives are mixed though institutional players appear increasingly cautious. Analysts at Standard Chartered recently lowered their year-end price target for Bitcoin downwards toward $100K while warning about potential declines as low as $50K during this cycle before any meaningful recovery can take place.
Additionally, numerous technical analysts now foresee possible drops below key psychological support near $60K if current levels fail to hold firm. Despite these concerns, Bitcoin proponents maintain confidence in its fundamental value proposition and view this correction phase as necessary cleansing of speculative excess leverage within markets.
Commenting on recent price fluctuations and prospects for reclaiming six-figure territory, Shawn Young—the chief analyst at MEXC Research—stated:
“Bitcoin is undergoing a classic consolidation period having stayed above $60K for more than six weeks. Although short-term sell-offs remain plausible, a modest growth rate around 1% over last week suggests sellers might be losing strength. “
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“We observe notable shifts occurring within broader equity markets where highly volatile assets like bitcoin often absorb significant capital outflows.”
Looking ahead, Young anticipates frequent sharp corrections with potentially lower lows but rejects predictions suggesting bitcoin could plunge back down toward only $10k levels. “The underlying fundamentals continue being robust”, he emphasized., pointing out ongoing buying activity still surpasses daily mining supply volumes.
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This net-positive supply balance might spark renewed rallies once bitcoin manages reclaim resistance around $80k.
Sustaining such prices over several weeks would make reaching $100k again realistic,” he concluded.
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Frequently Asked Questions
• <b>Why did bitcoin fall under $amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;x0036;&&k on Feb. </b> Volatile trading combined with profit-taking pressures caused prices to retreat following attempts above $base64;cDcwLDAw</b>
• <b>What range has bitcoin remained trapped inside throughout February?</b> It continues consolidating between $base64;cDY1LDAw&;#38;x3B7cHg= (sixty-five thousand) up through sixty-two thousand seventy-two hundred dollars since early Feburary limiting upward momentum
• BHow does sentiment look globally? The Crypto Fear &; Greed Index stays firmly entrenched inside extreme fear zones signaling caution worldwide
•tWhat do experts forecast next moves will be? Predictions vary widely ranging from dips below sixty-thousand dollars up towards one-hundred-thousand-dollar targets by year end