Bitcoin Hovers Near $65,000, Down Nearly 45% From Record High as Crypto Bear Market Persists This Week

Bitcoin traded near $65,574 on Monday, up modestly on the day but still deeply entrenched in a bear market that has wiped out nearly half the cryptocurrency's value since it hit an all-time high just nine months ago.

A modest gain within a much larger decline

Bitcoin rose $233.26, or 0.36%, to $65,574.34 as of early afternoon trading Monday, according to market data. The cryptocurrency opened the day at $65,333.12, roughly 1.6% higher than Sunday's opening price, before drifting between roughly $64,974 and $65,574 through the morning session. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, also gained ground Monday, opening at $1,953.02, up 4.3% from the previous day.

Despite the day's gains, the broader picture for bitcoin remains grim. According to Fortune's daily price tracking, bitcoin's price Monday morning represented an increase of roughly $901 from the previous day but a decline of approximately $54,090 compared with the same point a year earlier, a drop of more than 45% year-over-year.

A steep fall from October's record high

Bitcoin reached its all-time high of $126,198.07 on Oct. 6, 2025, a peak that now sits roughly 48% above current trading levels. The decline since that high has unfolded in stages throughout 2026, punctuated by a brutal crash in February that sent the cryptocurrency plunging from more than $80,000 in late January down to around $60,000, before a partial recovery. A separate, sharper leg down occurred in June, when bitcoin suffered a roughly 20.48% monthly drop, extending a broader slide that pushed prices as low as the $58,000 range at points during the summer.

What's driving the extended downturn

Analysts have pointed to a combination of factors behind bitcoin's sustained weakness this year, including sizable outflows from bitcoin exchange-traded funds, reduced market liquidity, a stronger U.S. dollar, and generally weak risk appetite among both institutional and retail investors. Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe, commenting on the market's technical posture during an earlier leg of the decline, said he was watching for signs of a genuine reversal that had yet to materialize. "I'd prefer to see it revert back with a strong liquidity wick, which hasn't happened yet," van de Poppe said, noting that the broader trend remained clearly downward at the time.

Wall Street's outlook on bitcoin has grown increasingly divided as the year has progressed. Citi cut its 12-month bitcoin price target to $82,000 from $112,000 earlier this year, citing continued ETF outflows, weak investor interest, and slow progress on U.S. crypto legislation, while setting a bear-case scenario near $53,000. By contrast, Standard Chartered's Geoffrey Kendrick has maintained a $100,000 year-end target for bitcoin, arguing that the current weakness could ultimately prove to be a buying opportunity if ETF selling pressure eases. Bernstein has gone even further, maintaining a $150,000 year-end target and arguing earlier this year that bitcoin had likely already found its bottom.

Monday's gains tied to easing geopolitical tensions

The modest uptick in both bitcoin and ethereum prices Monday came as broader financial markets reacted positively to news that the United States had paused airstrikes against Iranian military targets over the weekend, part of a broader push to restore stability following weeks of escalating conflict in the Middle East. That de-escalation lifted risk appetite across a range of asset classes Monday, including stocks and cryptocurrencies, though it remains unclear whether the improved sentiment will prove durable given how volatile the broader conflict has been throughout the year.

A pivotal week ahead for risk assets

Bitcoin's price action this week is likely to be shaped by several major catalysts beyond developments in the Middle East. The Federal Reserve is set to conclude a policy meeting this week, with markets closely watching for signals on the future path of interest rates. A dense slate of corporate earnings reports is also due from major companies across the stock market, and how investors treat risk-sensitive assets like cryptocurrency in response to both events is expected to offer clues about whether bitcoin's recent stabilization can hold or give way to renewed selling pressure.

Financial advisers grow more cautious

The extended downturn has prompted some financial advisers to reconsider their stance on cryptocurrency as an investment class, according to reporting on the shift in sentiment. That caution reflects broader questions within the investment community about how much of bitcoin's earlier rally was driven by speculative momentum versus durable institutional demand, a debate that has intensified as ETF outflows and weaker spot demand have weighed on prices throughout much of 2026.

A market still enormous despite the decline

Even after this year's steep losses, bitcoin remains by far the largest cryptocurrency by market value, with a total market capitalization of roughly $1.33 trillion as of Monday, more than five times larger than Ethereum's approximately $233 billion market cap. Bitcoin's history includes far more dramatic swings than the current downturn; the cryptocurrency's all-time low value was just $0.04865, recorded in July 2010, underscoring how dramatically its value has grown over the past decade and a half even accounting for this year's sharp pullback from record highs.

With bitcoin trading well below the key $65,600 resistance level that some analysts have identified as critical for any near-term recovery attempt, traders are likely to watch closely for whether the cryptocurrency can build on Monday's modest gains or whether the broader bearish trend that has defined 2026 reasserts itself. A decisive move above that resistance level could open the door to a push toward $70,000 or higher in the near term, according to some technical forecasts, while a failure to hold current levels could renew pressure toward the low-$60,000s or below, keeping bitcoin's path forward this summer highly uncertain heading into the Federal Reserve's policy decision and a heavy stretch of corporate earnings this week.