Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley told CNBC on Friday that Bitcoin's slide below $70,000 places it in a bear market and is offering institutions a fresh opportunity to buy at levels they thought they had missed. He noted Bitcoin was recently down 22.60% over 30 days and trading near $69,635, while Bitwise saw over $100 million in institutional inflows on Monday as the asset traded around $77,000. Horsley added that Bitcoin is currently moving in tandem with other liquid macro assets as investors sell broadly across markets.

Bitcoin is under pressure on the daily chart as a bearish 9-day and 20-day EMA crossover coincides with oversold RSI conditions, while the price trades well below these short-term averages. Order book data highlights a key battle around $69,000, with notable bid support near $69,201 and nearby ask walls just above that level, as traders watch resistance at $72,736 and support down to $60,649 for potential next moves.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele holds a 91.9% approval rating in a poll of 1,200 people, with security gains cited as the key driver. On February 5, 2026, he responded on X, while Bitcoin usage remains limited despite 2021 legal‑tender status and amid ongoing IMF talks over policy and the Chivo wallet.

Bitcoin has recently advanced by about 4%, even as the wider crypto market climbed roughly 7% and some altcoins posted double-digit gains. At the same time, a large holder moved more than 5,000 BTC worth around $345 million to Binance, while short-term holder liquidations, deeply negative social sentiment and a break in Bitcoin's historical correlation with global M2 money supply have all added to sell-side pressure. These overlapping trends have left BTC under notable bearish control until capital flows turn back in its favor.

On 8 February 2026, analysts pointed to dealer hedging around iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) structured notes as a key driver of Bitcoin’s latest price swings, rather than broad spot market selling. Arthur Hayes argued that these bank-issued products can force mechanical buying or selling when trigger levels are hit, while Mike McGlone highlighted $64,000 as a critical technical zone that could determine whether the market stabilizes or undergoes a deeper reset. Together, these structural flows and macro pressures suggest Bitcoin remains exposed to sharp, non-fundamental moves.

Over the past few weeks, volatility has intensified and Bitcoin’s price fell sharply, placing it in a deep bear-market conviction zone, according to Marcus Corvinus. Crypto Candy noted a move from $61,000–$58,000 into $70,000–$67,000 and a touch of $71,000 without a daily close above, keeping near-term retracements as the base case.

On 05 February, heavily leveraged positions linked to BlackRock’s IBIT ETF were forced to unwind, sending turnover to $10.7 billion and options premiums to $900 million as Bitcoin’s drawdown reached about 35%. Arthur Hayes said banks hedging IBIT-linked notes exacerbated selling, while IBIT’s first $200+ million inflow in nearly a month and a 65% jump in Coinbase Premium Index signaled possible stabilization.

On February 7, Mempool reported that Bitcoin mining difficulty in China fell 11.16% to 125.86 trillion, marking the largest single-step reduction since the ban five years ago. Analysts cited about a 20% decline in total hashrate over 30 days, price weakness, and weather-driven curtailments. Luxor data showed hashprice slid to $33.31/PH/s/day on February 2.