The cryptocurrency market remains marginally down despite altcoins, including Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Solana (SOL) trading in positive territory. While most altcoins recorded noticeable 24-hour gains, Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to bounce back, continuing its struggles around the $68,000 mark. The flagship cryptocurrency has largely traded sideways since facing significant volatility and selling pressure during the first week of February.
Meanwhile, crypto funds failed to attract enough inflows to offset the ongoing negative sentiment, recording a fourth week of outflows. According to CoinShares data, crypto ETPs recorded $173 million in outflows last week, over and above the $187 million in outflows a week prior.
Strategy Can Survive Bitcoin (BTC) At $8,000: Michael Saylor
Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor says the Bitcoin treasury company will survive even if BTC drops to $8,000, and still cover its debt obligations with its holdings. The company stated in a post on X,
“Strategy can withstand a drawdown in $BTC price to $8K and still have sufficient assets to fully cover our debt.”
Strategy is the largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin, accumulating 714,644 BTC worth just over $49 billion at current prices. The company funded its Bitcoin purchases using debt, a strategy mirrored by its peers, including Tokyo-listed Metaplanet. The approach was lauded when the flagship cryptocurrency hovered near record levels. However, many are calling the debt-financed Bitcoin buys a liability in the wake of Bitcoin’s crash to $60,000. In the event of a forced liquidation to pay off its debt, Strategy could flood the market, driving prices even lower. However, Strategy assured investors it could cover its debt even if Bitcoin fell to $8,000. The company also noted that its debts are spread over 2027 and 2032. Strategy also plans to switch existing convertible debt into equity to avoid issuing additional senior debt.
However, critics remain unimpressed, with pseudo-anonymous macro asset manager Capitalist Exploits stating that while Bitcoin at $8,000 could technically cover Strategy’s debt, the company bought its stash for around $54 billion. A potential decline to $8,000 would leave Strategy staring at an eye-watering $48 billion paper loss.
“Traditional lenders are unlikely to refinance a company whose primary asset has depreciated significantly, with conversion options rendered economically worthless, deteriorating credit metrics, and a stated policy of holding BTC long-term (limiting collateral liquidity).”
Crypto Phishers Target Trezor, Ledger Users Again
Ledger and Trezor users are reportedly inundated by physical letters in an attempt to steal their seed and recovery phrases. Cybersecurity expert Dmitry Smilyanets received one such letter, allegedly from Trezor, demanding users perform an “authentication check” by February 15. According to the letter, failure to do so would lead to the device being restricted. The letter has a hologram and QR code that redirects recipients to a scam website. Smilyanets added that the letter is signed by Matěj Žák, who is described as Ledger CEO. In reality, Matěj Žák is the CEO of Trezor.
A Ledger user received a similar letter in October, asking recipients to complete mandatory “Transaction Check” procedures.
Crypto Market Sentiment At “Extreme Fear”
Crypto market sentiment has fallen to “extreme fear” as analysts indicate potential seller exhaustion and a possible bottom. However, further downside could still be possible. Matrixport’s Bitcoin “Fear and Greed Index” suggests that a durable bottom could be forming as the 21-day moving average drops below zero before reversing higher, a trend which is currently ongoing.
“Sentiment has fallen to extremely depressed levels, reflecting broad pessimism across the market. This transition signals that selling pressure is becoming exhausted and that market conditions are beginning to stabilize.”
However, the analysts warned prices could still drop lower in the near term.
“Given the cyclical relationship between sentiment and Bitcoin price action, the latest reading suggests the market may be approaching another inflection point.”
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) has entered a sideways consolidation phase since experiencing hefty price movements on February 5 and February 6. The flagship cryptocurrency is trading between $66,000 and $70,000 as traders lack conviction in a sustained upward push.
As discussed earlier, the crypto market sentiment is at a four-year low. While Matrixport’s sentiment metric is at its lowest level since June 2024, Alternative.Me’s “Fear and Greed Index” is at its lowest level since June 2022. If Bitcoin ends the current month in the red, it will mark five consecutive monthly declines, the longest streak since 2018. According to Frank Holmes, chairman of Bitcoin mining firm Hive, Bitcoin is two standard deviations below its 20-day trading norm, a level seen only thrice in the past five years.
“This is a level we’ve seen only three times in the past five years. Historically, such extremes have favored short-term bounces over the subsequent 20 trading days. Despite the ongoing market jitters, I remain bullish in the long term because the fundamentals still look strong.”
According to CryptoQuant, Bitcoin may be transitioning into a broader bear phase. Data from the analytics platform shows the Adjusted SOPR (aSOPR) dropping into a historically critical zone. The metric fell towards the 0.92–0.94 range, typically associated with major stress points in 2019 and 2023. An aSOPR below 1.0 suggests coins are being spent at a loss, indicating loss realization and weak holder conviction.
Bitcoin (BTC) ended the previous weekend in positive territory despite encountering substantial volatility and selling pressure. Price action returned to bearish territory as the flagship cryptocurrency recorded a marginal decline. The price continued declining on Tuesday, falling 1.85% to $68,803. Selling pressure intensified on Wednesday as BTC fell almost 3% to $67,024. Bulls attempted a recovery on Thursday as the price reached an intraday high of $68,382. However, BTC lost momentum after reaching this level and fell 1.22% to $66,208.
Source: TradingView
Despite the overwhelming selling pressure, BTC recovered on Friday, rising almost 4% to $68,812. It briefly reclaimed $70,000 on Saturday, reaching an intraday high of $70,531 before settling at $$69,786. However, it returned to bearish territory on Sunday, ending the weekend down 1.43% to $68,792. BTC faced substantial volatility on Monday as buyers and sellers struggled to establish control. The flagship cryptocurrency ultimately registered a marginal increase to $68,858. The price is down over 1% during the ongoing session, trading around $68,161.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Tethered At $68,000 As Altcoins Lead Market Recovery was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.