On February 23, the price of the leading cryptocurrency dropped to $64,435 in just two hours. Following Bitcoin's lead, other digital assets also saw declines.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $65,587, down 4.2% over the past day.
Major altcoins are also experiencing losses: Ethereum fell by 5% to $1,879, while XRP dropped 4.5% to $1.36. BNB decreased by 3.7% to $598, and Solana lost 7.7%, falling to $78.
Analysts attribute the crash to a series of macroeconomic shocks. Mass riots in Mexico have significantly dampened global investors' interest in riskier assets. In the U.S., the index of pending home sales has fallen to a historic low not seen since 2001.
Pressure on prices intensified following the U.S. government's decision to raise import tariffs from 10% to 15%. This led to a decline in the dollar's value and futures on Wall Street.
Additionally, the yen's record strengthening played a role, as investors anticipate that the Bank of Japan will adopt a tighter monetary policy. Consequently, global funds have begun to significantly reduce leverage.
BTC Markets analyst Rachel Lucas noted a lack of liquidity to cushion the impact of these events. Spot trading volumes have decreased by 59%.
Kronos Research's Chief Investment Officer Vincent Liu identified $60,000 as a critical support level for Bitcoin. He believes a return to the $65,000-$66,000 range would stabilize the situation, while a breakout above $70,000 would indicate a trend reversal. The market could recover with an influx of funds into ETFs and the release of U.S. unemployment data.
Coin Bureau warned that a drop in Bitcoin's price below $60,000 could trigger a massive wave of liquidations, potentially costing traders $1.78 billion.
šØ $1.78 BILLION IN LIQUIDATIONS COULD HIT IF BITCOIN LOSES $60K pic.twitter.com/Jrc0Rv6e8O
ā Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) February 23, 2026
Long-term forecasts from experts remain positive. Over the past month, large investors have acquired 200,000 BTC. The short-term Sharpe ratio for Bitcoin has fallen to -38.38, similar to levels observed at the bottoms of bear markets in 2015, 2019, and 2022 before significant rallies.
Fear and Panic
The Fear and Greed Index has dropped to 5 out of 100, marking the lowest level recorded in its history.
Investor concern is linked to the prolonged bear trend. If Bitcoin closes February in the red, it will mark the fifth consecutive month of declineāthe longest streak of continuous price drops in the last seven years.
According to CoinGlass, open interest in Bitcoin has decreased to $19.5 billion, halving from January's peak of $38.3 billion.
š Bitcoin just dropped -4.5% in the span of just 2 hours, falling to a market value of $64.2K for the first time since February 5th.
ā Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 23, 2026
š Many longs have gotten liquidated, and $BTC open interest has dropped to as low as $19.5B, under half of the 2026 peak of $38.3B back onā¦ pic.twitter.com/ujhMRhTXTw
Analysts emphasized that the market decline occurred during a period of minimal social media activity. Nevertheless, negative sentiment among users has reached a two-week high.
After breaking the $65,000 support level, retail investors succumbed to FUD. Experts noted that such panic among small traders has historically often acted as a catalyst for rapid price recoveries.
Moreover, the number of Google searches for āBitcoin to zeroā among U.S. users has reached an all-time high.
Insight: U.S. Google searches for āBitcoin to zeroā just hit a record high as $BTC slid toward $60K, a spike that previously aligned with local bottoms in 2021 and 2022. pic.twitter.com/hc3nHsHgsS
ā CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) February 22, 2026
Historically, such sentiments have indicated an impending trend reversal. In 2021 and 2022, similar spikes in searches coincided precisely with the formation of local bottoms.
Risk of Sell-offs
Large investors who purchased Bitcoin in the last six months have accumulated unrealized losses totaling approximately $26 billion, as noted by CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost.
š“ The level of unrealized losses held by STH whales is becoming increasingly concerning.
ā Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) February 22, 2026
At present, roughly $26B in losses are being carried by whales who entered the market within the past six months. This ranks among the most significant levels observed this year.
š„ Theā¦ pic.twitter.com/VfAZJ4CCAN
He pointed out that the current volume of losses among short-term holders is alarming. This figure has reached one of the highest levels this year.
Darkfost reminded that the annual peak of unrealized losses for whales was recorded on February 6, when the price of the leading cryptocurrency fell below $60,000, reaching $32 billion.
He noted that the primary losses are currently borne by participants who opened positions late in the market cycle.
Holding positions at a loss undermines the confidence of major players. The expert emphasized that during new volatility spikes, this could lead to emotional decisionsāpotentially resulting in panic sell-offs.
Buterin Sells Ethereum
According to Lookonchain, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has once again ramped up his sales of the second-largest cryptocurrency.
vitalik.eth(@VitalikButerin) is selling $ETH faster again.
ā Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 23, 2026
In the past 2 days, he has sold 1,869 $ETH ($3.67M). During that time, $ETH fell from $1,988 to $1,875, down 5.7%.
Last time he sold 6,958 $ETH ($14.78M), $ETH dropped from $2,360 to $1,825 ā a 22.7% fall.ā¦ pic.twitter.com/v2x6Q3ZTme
In the last two days, he sold 1,869 ETH worth $3.67 million. During this time, the cryptocurrency's price fell by 5.7%, from $1,988 to $1,875.
Analysts recalled his previous significant transaction, where Buterin sold 6,958 ETH valued at $14.78 million. At that time, the coin's price plummeted by 22.7%, from $2,360 to $1,825.
Additionally, CryptoQuant analyst Burak Kesmetci identified four indicators to watch for determining Bitcoin's long-term trend.