Bitcoin declined on Friday, ending a brief rebound from earlier weekly lows as overall risk appetite remained weak. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now on track for a fifth straight monthly loss, reflecting persistent pressure across the crypto market.
Broader cryptocurrency prices moved largely in line with Bitcoin. Both retail and institutional investors have stayed cautious, leading to sharp losses across the sector in February.
Bitcoin slipped nearly 1% to $67,788. Despite minor recoveries during the month, the digital asset has struggled to regain momentum. For February, Bitcoin was down almost 14%, highlighting a continued risk-off trend in crypto markets.
Global geopolitical tensions, uncertainty around major economies and concerns over further disruptions from U.S. trade tariffs have kept investors wary of speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies. At one point this month, Bitcoin had fallen as much as 50% from its October record high, though it managed a partial recovery from those lows.
Even sustained buying by major corporate holder Strategy has failed to reverse the broader downward trend. In recent months, Strategy has reportedly slowed its pace of Bitcoin purchases, amid growing concerns that a prolonged price decline could pressure the company to sell holdings to meet debt obligations.
Meanwhile, MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, saw its shares surge in after-hours trading on Thursday after announcing a deal with Starwood Capital. The agreement will see some of its Bitcoin mining sites converted into artificial intelligence data centres.
MARA stock jumped as much as 17%, as the AI partnership helped offset investor concerns over a $1.7 billion fourth-quarter loss. The Bitcoin miner has been hit hard by the prolonged drop in cryptocurrency prices, which has significantly reduced the profitability of its mining operations. Revenue also missed expectations.
As Bitcoin weakness continues and interest in artificial intelligence accelerates, MARA has been shifting strategy by repurposing computing resources toward AI data centres instead of focusing solely on crypto mining.
Across the wider market, altcoins also lost ground after a short-lived rebound earlier in the week. Ethereum fell 1.2% to $2,038.21 and was on track for a nearly 17% monthly decline. The token faced additional pressure after co-founder Vitalik Buterin reportedly sold more of his holdings, adding to negative sentiment.
XRP dropped 2.3% and was heading for a 15% loss in February. BNB was little changed on Friday but remained down nearly 20% for the month. Solana has declined about 17% in February, while Cardano traded flat. Among meme coins, Dogecoin fell 5.4% and the $TRUMP token slid 20% over the same period.
