Bitcoin’s relentless decline intensified on Thursday as its value dipped beneath $67,000, erasing substantial wealth and undermining assertions that it was the equivalent of ‘digital gold.’

Since its peak at just over $126,000 in early October, the leading cryptocurrency has shed nearly half of its worth, leaving numerous small investors with significant losses.

On Thursday, Bitcoin plummeted to $67,675, marking its lowest point since November 2024. This fall below the $70,000 threshold set off another round of sell-offs.

The cryptocurrency has plummeted 20 percent this week alone and is now down 47 percent from its peak merely four months ago.

“This pattern of continuous selling suggests to us that institutional investors are losing their appetite, and the overall sentiment toward crypto is becoming increasingly negative,” Deutsche Bank analyst Marion Laboure remarked in a client note on Wednesday.

As prices nosedive at such a swift pace, fortunes can quickly evaporate. Some investors find themselves in dire straits, especially those who borrowed to invest in crypto and now owe money even after their savings have been obliterated.

The slump has also hit some big Wall Street-listed companies that tied their fortunes directly to bitcoin.

One of the most exposed is Strategy, run by crypto evangelist Michael Saylor. Formerly known as MicroStrategy, the firm has spent the past five years piling into bitcoin and now holds nearly 713,000 tokens.

Michael Saylor speaks about cryptocurrency at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, in February 2025. His company, Strategy, has since been hit hard by bitcoin’s latest crash, with its massive crypto holdings now sitting at a loss

The company paid an average of about $76,000 per coin – roughly 13 percent higher than today’s price of around $67,000 – meaning its vast bitcoin stash is now sitting at a loss rather than a profit.

As a result, Strategy’s own share price has cratered too, sliding about 20 percent in just the past five days as bitcoin’s sell-off intensified.

Bitcoin was once promoted as a safe place to park money during inflation scares and global turmoil – similar to gold.

That promise has not held up. Instead, the cryptocurrency has largely moved in the same direction as risky assets like stocks, rising when markets are booming and falling when fear sets in.

Over the past 12 months, bitcoin – despite soaring in value in the summer and fall – is down nearly 29 percent, Google Finance data shows. Strategy is down an huge 67 percent over that period.

Gold has moved in the opposite direction, surging 69 percent over the same period as investors looked for safer places to put their money. 

And the broader US stock market has continued to climb. The S&P 500, widely seen as the main barometer for American shares, is up nearly 13 percent over the same period.

Other major cryptocurrencies are tumbling too. Ether has dropped 23 percent this week, also its worst stretch since late 2022. Solana slid to $88.42 on Thursday, near a two-year low and down 24 percent this week alone.

Bitcoin’s price today, Thursday, February 5, has slumped a further 8 percent

A trader runs across the floor of the New York Stock Exchange last year when stocks fell as tariffs were announced. Over the past year, the S&P 500 is up nearly 13 percent over the past year while bitcoin has plunged 

Some traders say $70,000 was a crucial line in the sand for Bitcoin. Big round numbers often act as psychological support in markets. 

Many people bought at that level, so when prices fall close to it, traders often try to prop it up by buying more in the hope of stopping further losses. That support has now cracked.

James Butterfill, head of research at Coinshares, warned that breaking it means more pain ahead. 

‘$70,000 is shaping up as a key psychological level,’ he said, adding that ‘if we fail to hold it, a move toward the $60,000 to $65,000 range becomes quite likely.’

Another factor adding fuel to the crash is forced selling. When bitcoin hits certain price levels, trading platforms automatically sell positions to limit losses, which can cause prices to spiral lower. 

More than $2 billion worth of crypto bets have been wiped out this week alone, according to Coinglass.

The crypto slump comes amid wider struggles on Wall Street for stocks and precious metals.

US tech shares have sold off sharply this week, while precious metals have turned volatile again, with silver plunging and gold pulling back after huge gains earlier this year.

Five-day bitcoin chart showing the latest sharp sell-off, after a surge in the summer and fall that briefly pushed prices higher, but still leaves the cryptocurrency down nearly 32 percent over the past year 

A cryptocurrency trader holds a physical bitcoin token while watching prices plunge on a computer screen, as the digital currency’s steep sell-off wipes out savings and forces some investors into debt

Much of the selling is now coming from big players who were once seen as bitcoin’s strongest supporters.

These are large funds, banks and professional money managers who invest other people’s savings – including pensions and retirement accounts.

‘Institutional demand has reversed materially,’ CryptoQuant said in a report on Wednesday.

US bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which were buying around 46,000 bitcoin at this time last year, have turned into net sellers in 2026, the report found. CryptoQuant warned the latest slide points to ‘potential downside toward the $70K–$60K range’.