Cryptocurrencies: Deep red weeks for Bitcoin

Not only is Bitcoin falling and falling, but the entire crypto market is shaking. Are these just the usual recurring slumps or the definitive end of the crypto boom? Fans are confident, while critics feel vindicated.

February 12, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). Bitcoin continues to weaken. “Last week, the crypto markets experienced one of their largest daily losses since records began,” reports André Dragosch from the issuer Bitwise. The mood on the crypto market is close to an all-time low. “Is Bitcoin now dead?” asks WirtschaftsWoche.

The price of the most important cryptocurrency fell below $61,000 last Friday. On Thursday morning, it stood at $67,123, still almost half of its all-time high of just under $126,000 in October. Other currencies such as Solana and Ethereum also continue to decline.

US Treasury Secretary: No Bitcoin stabilization

There are several reasons for this: On the one hand, risk aversion has increased. Many US tech stocks have also lost ground recently, albeit at a high level. With the appointment of Kevin Warsh as the new head of the US Federal Reserve, expectations of interest rate cuts have also declined – bad news for interest-free cryptocurrencies, which become more attractive when interest rates are low. Furthermore, with the new candidate, the end of Fed independence, which many crypto fans had been expecting, is now not so clear. Added to this is disappointment that US President Donald Trump's big promises on Bitcoin have so far come to nothing. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even made it clear in a hearing before Congress that the government would not take any measures to stabilize Bitcoin.

Sales of Bitcoin ETFs worth billions are also playing a role. Another important factor is companies with large Bitcoin holdings – above all MicroStrategy. They could be forced to sell if prices fall. Most recently, well-known US investor and financial crisis forecaster Michael Burry warned of a “death spiral,” a cycle of falling prices and ever-increasing sales. 

“Usual four-year cycle,” “solid fundamentals”

“The decisive factor was not a single event, but rather the interplay of several factors, including lack of demand from institutional investors, macroeconomic uncertainties, and increased leverage positioning in the derivatives market,” explains DZ Bank analyst Jonathan Osswald. This is not a new narrative or new skepticism. “As long as the market remains structurally highly leveraged, even small external impulses can trigger disproportionately strong price movements.”

“The most important reason is also the simplest: long-term crypto investors sold to get ahead of the four-year cycle,” says Dragosch of Bitwise, referring to the poor Bitcoin years of 2014, 2018, 2022, and possibly 2026. “In 2018, Bitcoin fell 84 percent, and in 2022, it fell 77 percent. And today, it feels very similar to back then.” In retrospect, however, these were “incredible buying opportunities.”

Maximiliaan Michielsen of 21shares is also confident. “The fact that Bitcoin is tradable 24/7 amplified the price movements,” he notes. “Cryptocurrencies will continue to trade in line with the general macroeconomic sentiment, while the infrastructure is quietly being expanded in the background.” As volatility normalizes, markets will refocus on fundamentals – and those remain solid.