Bitcoin’s selloff pushes price below $70,000. What to know

Crypto prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks — and some analysts are warning that more pain is ahead for investors.

The price for bitcointhe most popular cryptocurrency, fell below $66,000 on Thursday afternoon, hitting its lowest level in more than a year. Analysts saw $70,000 as an important psychological threshold below which prices were likely to break further.

The digital asset has fallen nearly 50% from its recent peak in October, when bitcoin peaked at around $126,000. Bitcoin was down more than 10% in trading as of 2:45 PM ET on Thursday

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, wrote in a research note Wednesday that bitcoin could eventually reach around $38,000 — down about 70%.

He said he reached his conclusion based on trends and price movements during previous “bitcoin super bears,” or periods of steep declines.

“This is not a ‘bull market correction’ or ‘a dip,'” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, a cryptocurrency manager, wrote in a note on Monday.

“This is a full-on, 2022-esque, Leonardo-DiCaprio-in-The-Revenant-style crypto winter — triggered by factors ranging from excessive leverage to widespread profit-taking by OGs,” Hougan wrote. OGs refer to early investors in bitcoin.

The crypto sales come amid broad support for cryptocurrency by President Donald Trump and his administration.

Trump promised to make the US a “bitcoin superpower” while on the campaign trail, saying he wanted to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”. Trump signed an executive order within days of taking office to promote digital assets, and the White House and US regulators have followed supportive policies.

Bitcoin ETFs began trading on US stock exchanges about two years ago, making it easier for investors to buy and sell crypto.

So why have crypto prices fallen in recent weeks and months?

Because “good news doesn’t matter” In the “depths” of a crypto winter, as seen for example in 2018 and 2022, according to Hougan.

“We’re not going to rally because Wall Street is aggressively hiring or Morgan Stanley is raising crypto,” he wrote. “It will matter in the long run, but not now. Crypto winters don’t end in excitement; they end in exhaustion.”

The current one started in January 2025, he said.

However, this was not readily apparent at the time due to enthusiasm among institutional investors for digital assets – which “recovered” a “brutal winter” among retail investors, according to Hougan.

Analysts also point to other contributors.

For example, “credit stress has increased in the technology sector” since mid-2025, which has dragged down prices for bitcoin, which is seen as a “speculative technology-stock-like instrument,” according to Stifel’s Bannister.

Bitcoin also sold off amid a broader pullback in growth stocks and amid “hawkish” rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Bannister wrote.

“Hawkish cuts” — meaning the central bank has cut interest rates while suggesting it could be a while before they cut again — are “ominous” for bitcoin, which, like stocks in the Nasdaq 100, tends to move higher with “dovish” policies, Bannister wrote. Dovish policy aims to promote lower interest rates to boost economic growth and employment.

Crypto winters typically last about 13 months — meaning the current one could end soon, according to Hougan.

“What could dispel the clouds? Strong economic growth triggering an aggressive risk-on rally, a positive surprise on the Clarity Act, signs of sovereign adoption for bitcoin, or just the passage of time,” he wrote.

The so-called Clarity Act aims to provide legislative safeguards for the crypto market and large digital asset firms – which could accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology and crypto in the US.

For investors, the price drop makes it important to do a gut check on bitcoin and crypto, experts say.

In general, bitcoin is a volatile asset – meaning that gains can be large, but so can losses. Financial advisors generally recommend limiting bitcoin and other digital assets to a very small portion of your portfolio.

“To me, no one should hold more than 5% in any concentrated asset,” says certified financial planner Carolyn McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida, and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

Even with a small stake in crypto, however, “you should have a process for investing and understanding when to buy and sell,” says Ivory Johnson, CFP, founder of Delancey Wealth Management in Washington, who is also a member of the Board. He said he sold client stakes when the price was around $80,000, still making profits.

As with any investment, you need to know why you own cryptocurrency.

“In my opinion, if you are optimistic about bitcoin in the long term, then [this drop] is a buying opportunity,” says Barry Glassman, CFP, founder and president of Glassman Wealth Services in Vienna, Virginia, who also serves on the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

He doesn’t invest client assets in bitcoin, but said about half of his clients have exposure through either a brokerage account or crypto wallet.

Glassman also pointed out that bitcoin has had big drops before. In November 2022, for example, it was trading at around $16,360 after reaching $65,500 a year earlier – a 75% drop.

On the other hand, if you bought bitcoin at a higher price than it is now, “ask yourself, ‘Would I buy bitcoin today?'” McClanahan said.

“If you can’t say to yourself yes, you will buy today, then you should probably sell your holdings,” she said.

If you do sell bitcoin at a lower price than when you bought it, you can use those losses to offset gains you earn from other investments and rebalance your portfolio – so-called tax loss harvesting.

Also, be aware of the wash-sell rule, which prohibits the loss if you buy the same or substantially identical investment within 30 days.

If you own bitcoin directly, it is not subject to the rule: You can sell and then quickly repurchase and still realize the losses. However, if you own bitcoin through an ETF, any losses on sale are subject to the rule – so you’ll have to wait at least 30 days to buy back.

Also, if your losses exceed your gains for the year, you can use up to $3,000 of the loss to offset other income on your tax return, McClanahan said. Any remaining loss is carried forward to future tax years.