Wed. Feb 18th, 2026

Bitcoin Marked for Worst Q1 as Price Slumps 25%

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has lost about 25% from the beginning of the year to date, and crypto analysts and the investment community have already marked the digital coin for a red first quarter in history.

With a total market capitalisation of $1.33 trillion at the time of writing, Bitcoin is hovering below $67k on Tuesday, amidst sharp swings in volume. Over the 24 hours, BTC trading has dropped by 15% to $32.3 billion.

The world’s largest digital asset opened in 2026 at about $88k, and it is struggling to keep $67k, based on its price movement this week.  Macro-economic instability and profit-taking activities have kept price movement locked below $70k.

This divergent trade, since the digital assets peaked at $127K in Oct last year, has been fuelled by global economic uncertainties, and what Wall Street calls ‘TACO’ trade has a significant influence on the crypto market.  

The latest trading direction mirrored what happened in 2018 when the price declined sharply by half, according to crypto analysts. Bitcoin is caught between determined corporate buying and a wider institutional pullback, with technical structure leaning bearish.

Crypto community agrees that weak back-to-back performance in January through February marks another uncharted territory for investors, traders, and the market.   XRP Sinks by 14% as Extreme Fear Stokes Sell Pressure
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