Bitcoin hovered around the $66,000 level on Friday, positioning the world’s largest cryptocurrency for a potential fourth consecutive weekly loss as broader financial markets remained under pressure. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization slipped about 1.67% over the past 24 hours to roughly $2.26 trillion.
Market data shows Bitcoin maintaining an unusually strong correlation with traditional assets, moving roughly in line with the S&P 500 (93%) and gold (91%), showing how interest-rate expectations and global macro developments are increasingly driving crypto price action.
From Record Highs to Sharp Reversal
Bitcoin’s current consolidation follows a dramatic reversal from its October 2025 record high near $126,000. The downturn accelerated on Oct. 10, 2025, when geopolitical tensions, including a proposed 100% tariff threat on Chinese goods, sparked a massive liquidation wave. Roughly $19 billion in leveraged positions were wiped out as Bitcoin dropped more than 14% within hours, a selloff intensified by a technical disruption on a major exchange.
Since then, the cryptocurrency has lost nearly half of its peak valuation, repeatedly testing the psychologically important $60,000 level as institutional flows cooled and macro uncertainty persisted.
Capitulation Signals Flash Warning
On-chain analytics indicate the recent decline ranks among the largest capitulation phases in Bitcoin’s history. Realized losses, a metric measuring the dollar value of coins sold below their purchase prices, reached approximately $2.3 billion on a seven-day average basis, placing the event among the top three to five largest loss spikes ever recorded. Comparable events occurred during the 2021 market crash, the 2022 Terra-Luna and FTX collapse, and the mid-2024 correction.
Source: CryptoQuant
The bulk of selling pressure appears to be coming from short-term holders who accumulated Bitcoin between $80,000 and $110,000 and are now exiting at significant losses, while long-term holders continue to hold through the downturn.
Relief Rally or Bear-Market Pause?
Historically, sharp realized-loss spikes have often coincided with short-term rebounds, and Bitcoin recently bounced from around $60,000 to near $71,000 following the latest capitulation wave. Analysts caution, however, that such recoveries can occur within extended downtrends, meaning the current stabilization may represent a temporary relief rally rather than a confirmed trend reversal.
