Bitcoin Slides as Markets Turn Risk-Off 

Bitcoin has taken another leg down, wiping out the rally it built after Donald Trump’s election win, as a sour mix of US labour-market signals and broader “risk-off” positioning rippled through equities, metals and crypto.

What happened (and where price is sitting now):

• Bitcoin dipped to around US$64,000, with the day’s move roughly -11%, and the week’s range sliding from the mid-80s to the mid-60s.
• Bitcoin’s all-time high sits at US$126,080, putting the current pullback at roughly 45–50% from the peak.

Why macro matters

This move hasn’t been “crypto in a vacuum”. A big part of the story is that markets broadly de-risked at the same time:

• US employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, the highest January tally since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas data reported by Business Insider.
• In metals, gold and silver sold off sharply, with silver down double-digits on the day. This is consistent with forced deleveraging and position-covering when equities wobble.
• US equities also slid, with the Nasdaq and broader indices closing meaningfully lower amid AI-spending concerns and softer labour data.

Bottom line: when stocks, metals and crypto all dump together, it usually points to liquidity and leverage coming out, not one crypto-specific problem.

The “Strategy” factor: a giant balance sheet tied to BTC

Analysts are also watching Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) because it is one of the largest single buyers and holders of Bitcoin, and its share price is tightly coupled to BTC.

A few relevant datapoints:

• The Wall Street Journal reported Strategy booked a very large quarterly loss tied to fair-value markdowns as Bitcoin fell.
• Strategy’s own release said it held 713,502 BTC (as of early February 2026).
• Traders appear to be de-risking into the earnings event, with Kaiko analyst Laurens Fraussen pointing to this as one contributor to the day’s selling pressure.

Why it matters: in a fast drawdown, anything that has become a proxy trade can amplify the move as participants hedge or unwind simultaneously. That includes BTC proxies, leveraged ETFs, options, perpetual positioning, and large treasury holders. This sort of positioning overhang can keep markets jumpy for weeks, with participants de-risking on every rally attempt.

What would change the tone from here?

Two things matter most in the next few sessions:

1. Whether BTC stabilises above the mid-to-high 60s and reclaims key levels without immediate sell pressure, which would suggest buyers are stepping in with conviction.
2. Whether macro conditions stop worsening. If labour data and equities keep sliding, it is hard for crypto to decouple in the short term.