Bitcoin climbed back above the $65,000 level on Friday, as selling pressure across global technology stocks showed tentative signs of easing. However, the recovery came after sharp intraday losses that had pushed the cryptocurrency close to multi-month lows.
Market volatility weighs on sentiment
Bitcoin was last trading up 4.4 percent at $65,894, after earlier sliding 5 percent to $60,008. However, despite the rebound, the cryptocurrency remains on track for its worst weekly decline since late 2022, with losses of nearly 14 percent. Moreover, prices remain near their weakest levels since early October 2024, highlighting sustained pressure on risk assets.
Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, said, “Bitcoin’s been going down since October (2025), maybe you could ask if it was the canary in the coalmine, or a coincidence.” He added, “A lot of these big crowded positions are being unwound very, very quickly.”
Broader crypto market under strain
Meanwhile, ether rose around 4 percent to $1,921 after touching a 10-month low earlier in the session. However, it remained set for a weekly decline of nearly 16 percent and a year-to-date drop of 35 percent. Additionally, the total cryptocurrency market has shed nearly $2 trillion in value since its October peak, with more than $1 trillion erased in the past month alone.
Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, said, “Bitcoin drifting back toward $60,000 is not crypto dying, it is the bill coming due for Treasuries and funds that treated bitcoin as a one-way asset without real risk controls, just as we have seen sharp corrections in self-proclaimed safe-haven assets like gold and silver when leverage and narrative ran ahead of reality.”
ETFs and risk assets drive outlook
Furthermore, analysts noted persistent outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which have added to downside pressure in recent months. As a result, bitcoin’s close correlation with technology stocks has amplified volatility during the latest equity market sell-off.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said, “February is not panning out well for stock market bulls so far, we shall have to see if bitcoin’s recovery above $65,000 is a sign that a deeper recovery is on the cards.”
