Bitcoin Experiences Significant Decline
Bitcoin suffered a sharp drop on Friday, capping off a turbulent week and officially entering bear market territory.
The leading cryptocurrency has plummeted over 20% from its peak of $126,272, reached in October. Notably, investor Louis Navellier highlighted that Bitcoin has now dipped below the critical $100,000 mark, signaling a major breach in technical support.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin also took a noticeable hit this week. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF each saw declines exceeding 8%.
Investor sentiment towards cryptocurrencies remained negative, particularly for Bitcoin and Ethereum. ETF outflows escalated last week, with withdrawals of $932 million from Bitcoin and $438 million from Ethereum, according to data from CoinShares.
Ethereum itself has now dropped 35.82% from its intraday high of $4,955.23, achieved back in August 2025.
Funds associated with Ethereum, like the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF, and Fidelity Ethereum Fund ETF, are down nearly 10% this week.
Despite the brief celebration following the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, concerns arose over the lagging economic data that might delay expected interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Market participants have adjusted their expectations, lowering the probability of a rate cut next month to 45%, with 54% anticipating no cuts at all.
U.S. stocks have experienced fluctuations throughout the week, with major indices finishing mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 300 points, or 0.65%, while the S&P 500 dipped by 0.05%. In contrast, the Nasdaq managed to gain a slight 0.13% as the week closed.
