The Bitcoin price started 2025 with an uninspiring performance in January, moving mostly sideways throughout the month. The premier cryptocurrency’s negative start to February — dropping around $92,000 on the first day — was a sign of what’s to come later in the month.

The Bitcoin price has since slipped beneath $80,000, posting one of its worst February performances in recent years. While several experts have shared their thoughts and analysis on this market downturn, analysts at crypto exchange Coinbase are among the latest to weigh on the latest Bitcoin February record.

Bitcoin’s Weekly Decline: What’s Causing The Drop?

In the latest market report, Coinbase analysts David Han and David Duong revealed that the crypto and Bitcoin markets are in a somewhat uncertain state. This shift in the market condition follows the $1.4 billion Bybit hack and the decline in the macroeconomic environment.

According to Coinbase analysts, the latest trade tariff news and decline in the Consumer Sentiment Index impacted the crypto and United States stock markets earlier in the week. However, the equities market bounced back due to improved investor sentiment after the US House of Representatives approved the year’s budget during the week.

The Bitcoin price, on the other hand, didn’t show this same level of resilience in the last seven-day period, struggling to reclaim some of its crucial psychological levels above the $95,000 level. Now, the flagship cryptocurrency trades just above the $80,000 mark, reflecting an over 12% decline in the past week.

Han and Duong believe that the failure of the Bitcoin price from the early-week blues was due to the absence of positive near-term catalysts for the crypto space. Additionally, the analysts highlighted the lack of technical support within the $80,000 – $95,000 region.

Source: SoSoValue

The current weak investor sentiment is spotlighted by the heavy outflows suffered by the US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, with over $2.9 billion withdrawn in the past week. “Concurrently, lending markets have echoed the risk-off sentiment as leverage diminished and funding rates declined across the board,” the analyst added.

According to the report, nearly $2 billion in perpetual futures were liquidated at the start of the week, significantly decreasing the leverage in the market. Meanwhile, the CME basis for both Bitcoin and Ethereum has dropped to 5%, the lowest since March 2023.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at around $85,200, reflecting a 0.3% decline in the past 24 hours.

The price of BTC forms a doji candlestick on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

Head of Macro Research at Global Market Investor Julien Bittel has provided an interesting insight into the Bitcoin market following a major price loss in the past week. In a bold move, the financial analyst has backed the premier cryptocurrency to soon pull off a rebound linking the recent price fall to broader macroeconomic conditions.

Why Bitcoin’s Drop Below $80,000 Could Have Marked The End Of The Sell-Off

Over the past week, the BTC market registered a significant bearish price action, with prices falling from over $96,000 to below $80,000. In an X post on February 28, Bittel attributed this price fall to the tightening of financial conditions in Q4 2024, which has drained liquidity from the market, making it harder for speculative assets like Bitcoin to maintain upward momentum.

When market liquidity reduces, economic surprises slow leading to concerns about a potential recession and ultimately inducing market uncertainty and a risk-off behavior. However, Bittel expects these investors’ sentiment to reverse in March making a case for a Bitcoin rebound.

The analyst notes that market conditions over the past two weeks have been easing rapidly as indicated by a weakening dollar, decreasing bond yields, and falling oil prices. These macroeconomic developments suggest that liquidity is returning to the financial system signaling a potential rebound in market sentiment.

Notably, with Bitcon’s recent dip below $80,000, Julien Bittel states the effects of tightening liquidity conditions have been fully reflected. And while a potential price fall is still possible, sentiment indicators signal little room for further downside. For example, Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) has recently touched 23 representing its most oversold level since August 2023. Such market conditions back the notion of incoming price rebound.

The BTC Market: A Contrarian Opportunity?

In the final remarks of an intriguing analysis, Bittel has urged investors against being too comfortably bearish but rather pushed for a greedy mindset amidst the widespread market fear.

Notably, blockchain analytics firm Santiment notes that the “market crowd” tends to go wrong on predictions i.e. when traders are forecasting Bitcoin to go lower, prices go up and vice versa based on historical data. Therefore, the current Bitcoin market may present a unique opportunity for accumulation despite general expectations of a sustained price dip.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $84,750 following some price gains on Friday amidst a positive US inflation report. With a market cap of $1.68 trillion, the premier cryptocurrency remains the largest digital asset with a staggering market dominance of 60%.

Featured image from The Independent, chart from Tradingview

Metaplanet, the Japanese company that has established itself as a prominent corporate adopter of Bitcoin, is starting to experience modest losses on its investments. 

This comes as the cryptocurrency’s price has fallen to its lowest levels in over three months.

Over the past week, Bitcoin has been undergoing a sharp downturn, with weekly losses extending to 18.2%. In fact, today, its price dropped to intra-day lows below $80,000, marking price levels last seen in November 2024.

At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $80,462 after a 6.5% decrease in the past 24 hours. The broader crypto market was also down, with the total market capitalization depreciating by 7.7%.

For Metaplanet, which has an average cost of $81,458 per Bitcoin, these fluctuations spell trouble. According to the latest data from BitcoinTreasuries, Metaplanet is grappling with a 2.0% loss on its Bitcoin investments.

The company currently holds 2,235 BTC, valued at $179.54 million. This represents a substantial 20.9% of the firm’s total market capitalization.

The financial challenges extend beyond its cryptocurrency holdings. Metaplanet’s stock has also taken a notable hit. 

“Metaplanet (3350 JP) is now down 54% since the peak,” BitMex Research noted.

However, BitMex highlighted that Metaplanet’s stock price is still significantly higher than the value of the Bitcoin it holds. Meanwhile, according to Yahoo Finance, Metaplanet shares declined 17.4% today, closing at ¥3,310 (approximately $22).

Despite the dip, Metaplanet has remained steadfast in its commitment to Bitcoin. On February 27, the company issued ¥2 billion (approximately $13.3 million) in zero-interest bonds to purchase Bitcoin. This marked its seventh bond issuance for the same purpose. These bonds are scheduled for redemption on August 26, at face value. 

The move is in line with Metaplanet’s 2025 roadmap. The company aims to accumulate 10,000 Bitcoins by the end of the year.

“The market has recognized Metaplanet as Tokyo’s preeminent Bitcoin company, and we are seizing this momentum to solidify our position as a global leader. Our vision is to lead the Bitcoin renaissance in Japan and emerge as one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders globally. This plan is our commitment to that future,” Metaplanet’s CEO Simon Gerovich said.

Metaplanet’s ambitious strategy extends beyond 2025, with a target of accumulating 21,000 Bitcoins by the end of 2026. The company calls it the “21 Million Plan.”

This initiative involves the issuance of 21 million shares through moving strike warrants. It represents Asia’s largest-ever equity capital raise for Bitcoin, with a funding target of ¥116.65 billion ($785 million).