Crypto traders are hating 2026 so far, and Bitcoin (BTC) shows no signs of recovery.
I remember it was only in early October last year that the leading cryptocurrency had hit an all-time high (ATH) of $126,080, and Bitcoin maximalists were all over the moon.
Related: Jim Cramer issues blunt warning, predicts next Bitcoin bottom
Analysts were making bullish price predictions and the market was confident that Bitcoin could easily replace gold as the ultimate safe haven asset against inflation and dollar debasement.
But then, President Donald Trump issued another tariff warning against China on Oct. 10, and the crypto market collapsed like a house of cards.
The flash crash that began then is yet to come to an end, and given the way Bitcoin is sliding even further down, it doesn't seem that the recovery is coming soon.
Note that it was Trump's election win in November 2024 and his administration's pro-crypto moves, such as the order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropping its securities violations suits against major crypto trading exchanges in coming months, that sent Bitcoin to new heights.
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But Trump's utterances regarding tariffs hurt crypto assets like Bitcoin. I would even argue it was inevitable, given the fact that Wall Street has been increasingly embracing digital assets.
As Bitcoin became mainstream, it often moved in sync with the U.S. stock market. Meanwhile, gold clearly beat the digital asset and consolidated its dominance as the ultimate choice among traders.
On Feb. 5, Bitcoin fell as low as $66,835.63 in its worst crash since November 2024.
As per the onchain analytics platform CoinGlass , crypto positions worth approximately $1.5 billion have been wiped out in the last 24 hours. It includes $1.26 billion in long and $187 million in short positions.
Bitcoin led the rout with $737.78 million in liquidations.
As per CoinGecko , the crypto market has wiped out $1 trillion in market cap since mid-January. The total market cap has fallen from $3.3 trillion on Jan. 15 to $2.3 trillion at the time of writing.
An analyst thinks the worst is yet to come.
John Blank warns Bitcoin could crash to $40K
John Blank, the chief equity strategist at Zacks Investment Research, recently appeared on a CNBC show and warned that Bitcoin could crash further to $40,000.
"Generally speaking, a Bitcoin winner is 12 to 18 months long and these are well understood technical features so at $76,000 from $125,000, which was the peak, we can get to $40,000... $40,000"
Blank expanded that it could either happen very quickly or take 6-8 months for the cryptocurrency to plummet to the $40,000 level.
The Bitcoin highs and lows over the previous cycles form a megaphone pattern and an extension of that chart could lead the decline to $40,000, he explained.
When the host Karen Tso quizzed him on why the crypto market is crashing despite having a pro-crypto president, Blank said the president doesn't like to involve himself in policy and is more interested in emergency orders.
"The problem here is the crypto guys bet on the wrong guy," he said regarding the delay in the passage of the crypto market structure bill.
Even though the digital asset industry is trying to create demand through instruments like crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stablecoins, people are now tired of crypto trades, Blank argued. He even wondered if it is "stale" to be in Bitcoin.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $67,967.17.
Related: Bitcoin crashes below $70K, wiping out millions of dollars
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
