Bitcoin down 49% from peak, holds above $60,000 in 2026

Bitcoin declined roughly 49% from its October 2025 record high above $126,000 and traded mostly between $63,000 and $65,400 by August 2026, while remaining above the $60,000 level through the period.

Strategy sold 1,690 BTC in August 2026 at an average price near $64,262, according to company filings, trimming its reported holdings to about 840,447 BTC. The sales were reported as moves to bolster cash and meet preferred-share obligations and repurchase needs.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded a sustained period of redemptions, including eight consecutive weeks with more than $8 billion in outflows. In the most recent trading session covered here, approximately $853 million flowed back into those funds.

A contentious protocol proposal, BIP-110, produced a minority chain that mined two blocks before stalling. A small mining group mined those blocks; the alternative chain quickly fell behind the main Bitcoin network, and supporters of the minority chain are discussing algorithm changes.

A firmware vulnerability dating to 2021 was exploited in Coldcard hardware wallets, an incident estimated to have drained more than 2,000 BTC from thousands of addresses. The exploit occurred amid a year that saw numerous hacks and security breaches across the crypto industry.

Lower prices, tighter mining margins and rising energy costs led some publicly traded miners to sell portions of their bitcoin treasuries. Several mining firms also shifted part of their data center capacity to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads, creating an alternate revenue source for expensive power assets.

Fighting between the United States and Iran intensified beginning in late February 2026, and intermittent attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher at times. Those energy spikes were followed by renewed inflation concerns and raised the prospect of extended tighter monetary policy by central banks.

Order-book data and market-depth visualizations showed a substantial buy wall near $60,000, supported by regulated investment products and long-term holders. During the period described here, price declines tended to stabilize rather than trigger large, cascading liquidations.

Analysts and traders identified risks that could prompt further declines, including another major oil shock, a deterioration in global growth, renewed institutional withdrawals or additional large corporate sales, any of which could push bitcoin toward the $50,000 range. Separately, developments in quantum computing have prompted technical discussions; current quantum machines cannot break Bitcoin’s cryptography, but shorter timeline estimates have increased planning for future safeguards.

Market participants continue to monitor inflows and outflows, security developments, miner behavior and geopolitical events through the remainder of 2026.