Bitcoin rebounded on Friday after briefly testing the closely watched $60,000 level, recovering from a 16-month low as a broad sell-off in global technology stocks showed early signs of stabilizing.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency was last trading 3.3% higher at $65,198, after sliding as much as 5% earlier in the session to a low near $60,009. Despite the bounce, bitcoin remains close to its weakest levels since October 2024, shortly before Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election following campaign pledges to support the crypto sector.
“Bitcoin has been trending lower since October, and the speed of this move suggests crowded trades are being unwound very quickly,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
Ether also staged a recovery, rising nearly 4% to $1,919 after falling earlier toward a 10-month low of $1,752.
According to data from CoinGecko, the total cryptocurrency market has shed roughly $2 trillion in value since peaking at $4.38 trillion in early October, with more than $1 trillion erased in the past month alone.
Bitcoin is still on track for a weekly loss of about 15%, bringing its year-to-date decline to roughly 26%. Ether is facing a steeper drop, down around 16% for the week and nearly 36% so far this year.
Recent volatility in cryptocurrencies has mirrored sharp swings in precious metals and equities, where leveraged positions and speculative flows amplified losses. Some of that pressure eased on Friday as selling momentum slowed.
“Bitcoin drifting back toward $60,000 doesn’t mean crypto is finished,” said Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association. “It reflects the unwinding of excessive leverage and poor risk management, similar to what we’ve seen recently in gold and silver.”
Cryptocurrencies have struggled for months following a sharp correction from record highs last October, leading to cooler investor sentiment. Analysts at Deutsche Bank noted that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $3 billion in outflows in January, following heavy withdrawals in the prior two months.
