Bitcoin price opened Monday with sideways trading, remaining capped within a tight range between $68,095.70 and $69,999.
Investors largely stayed on the sidelines as they awaited a high-impact week of US economic data, including the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes and Q4 GDP estimates.
After hitting a seven-day high of $2.47 trillion over the weekend, fueled by a failed attempt to break above $71,000, the total crypto market cap receded toward $2.40 trillion.
Meanwhile, market sentiment remains suppressed; the Crypto Fear and Greed Index edged down to 12.
This confirms a state of “Extreme Fear” that has persisted since the beginning of February, showing no signs of immediate recovery.
By late Asian trading hours, top altcoins were predominantly in the red, with only a few select tokens managing to post limited gains.
Why is Bitcoin price down today?
Bitcoin’s current price action is primarily driven by a confluence of macroeconomic uncertainty and a notable lack of short-term catalysts.
Investors are increasingly adopting a “risk-off” posture as they anticipate a high-impact week of United States economic data, specifically the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes and the Q4 GDP advance estimate.
This pre-data caution has led to sideways trading, with Bitcoin largely capped below the $70,000 threshold.
The market appears to be in a holding pattern, as participants remain sidelined until there is greater clarity regarding the trajectory of interest rates and the overall health of the US economy.
The broader macroeconomic environment also remains a significant headwind, as persistent inflation concerns keep the Federal Reserve in a “neutral-to-hawkish” stance.
Despite some cooling in recent Consumer Price Index data, the Fed has signalled that interest rates may remain at their current levels of 3.75% for longer than initially anticipated.
High interest rates typically increase the cost of borrowing and make traditional yield-bearing assets more attractive than non-yielding assets like Bitcoin.
As a result, institutional flows, which were a major tailwind throughout the previous year, have notably turned into a headwind during this period.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $360 million in net outflows over the past week.
Lastly, Bitcoin’s failure to capitalise on a brief weekend rally toward $71,000, only to recede shortly after, has further demoralised retail and institutional traders alike, reinforcing the perception that the path of least resistance remains to the downside.
Analysts have noted that Bitcoin has faced repeated rejection at the $71,000 resistance level, creating a ceiling that has proved difficult to break without a major fundamental spark.
This technical failure often invites short-sellers and prompts further liquidations from traders who had hoped for a breakout.
With major support zones around $60,000 being tested, the market is currently experiencing a narrative crisis, where the post-halving growth expectations of 2024 have been tempered by the harsh realities of a tighter global monetary environment and a saturated retail market.
Will Bitcoin price go up?
According to some analysts, Bitcoin’s inability to establish a firm foothold above $70,000 has triggered concerns that the market has not yet found a definitive floor, potentially inviting a deeper correction toward the $50,000 to $60,000 zone.
On the upside, Bitcoin bulls must look to reclaim the $72,000 to $73,500 resistance zone to invalidate the current bearish structure.
Analysts suggest that a decisive daily close above this level is the minimum requirement to shift the short-term bias from Extreme Fear back to neutral-constructive.
Beyond this, a sustained rally toward $75,000 would be a major psychological milestone; crossing it would signal that the market has absorbed recent sell-side pressure and could potentially put an end to the mid-February slump.
For a true return to the long-term uptrend, the price would eventually need to clear the $81,000 region, which acted as a significant support floor earlier in the year but now looms overhead as a formidable technical ceiling.
This upside scenario hinges on a stabilisation of ETF flows and a potential shift in the Federal Reserve’s tone later this year.
If Bitcoin can establish a new support base above $70,000, it would set the stage for an elongated cycle where institutional adoption slowly offsets the current retail exhaustion, leading to a steady climb toward six-figure territory.
Conversely, the downside risk remains a significant concern for traders. If the price fails to hold the $65,000 to $68,000 liquidity pocket, technical analysts warn of a liquidation cascade that could mirror the volatility seen during the FTX collapse.
A breach of the $60,000 support level, which many see as the final line of defence, would likely trigger a deeper correction into the $50,000 to $53,000 range.
This aligns with the 200-week moving average and the realised price floor for many long-term investors.
A drop to these levels would represent a full retracement of the late-2025 gains and could lead to a prolonged period of consolidation as the market washes out the remaining speculative froth.
On X, crypto analyst Rekt Capital has warned that Bitcoin’s recent weekly closes above the 200-week EMA may be staving off immediate bearish confirmation, but the level remains a key trigger for additional downside if lost.
“History suggests price won’t be able to produce much upside from this 200 week EMA before an eventual breakdown,” the analyst wrote.
Meanwhile, according to fellow market commentator Chiefy, Bitcoin may be on the verge of a far steeper correction, with the analyst warning that the asset is preparing for a “massive dump” toward $29,000 as early as next week.
Chiefy argued that what he describes as the final bull trap of 2026 has already played out, adding that the next major crash is underway and could mark the beginning of an extended bear market phase.
At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price was hovering a little over $68,000.
Top altcoin gainers for the day
The altcoin market cap fell 6% over the day to $1.04 trillion at the time of writing.
Ethereum (ETH) largely traded sideways between $1,900-$2,000 before stabilising at $1,978 around press time, down 1.5% in the 24-hour trading session.
Other large-cap altcoins, such as XRP (XRP), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), and Hyperliquid (HYPE), settled with losses ranging roughly between 2-4%.
Dogecoin (DOGE) was down 7%, with most of the remaining top 100 tokens printing red.
Stable was the only major altcoin to achieve double-digit gains of 18% on the day.
These gains were likely fueled by the official launch of USDT on its network via Anchorage Digital, a milestone that marks the first time the world’s largest stablecoin is accessible to US institutions through a federally chartered bank.
For MYX Finance (MYX), which stood nearly 6% higher over the period, no particular catalysts could be identified, which means its gains followed a session of speculative trading.
Story (IP) also posted similar gains as community members reacted to the postponement of its first major token unlock to August this year.
Source: CoinMarketCap
https://invezz.com/news/2026/02/16/bitcoin-stuck-below-70k-stable-bucks-market-with-17-rally/
