Bitcoin plunges below $60,000, a first since October 2024, amid 'convergence of pressures'

Bitcoin's price plummeted below the symbolic threshold of $60,000 on Friday, a level not seen since October 2024. This marks a significant downturn for the cryptocurrency, which had previously peaked at over $126,000 in 2025.

The digital currency experienced a roughly 6% drop, reaching $59,770.90 before slightly recovering. By late afternoon GMT, it was still down 3.58% at $61,297.57. The current price represents a halving of its value since the high observed last autumn, and it now trades below the level it held before Donald Trump's election victory in late 2024.

Iliya Kalchev, from the digital asset platform Nexo, described the current correction as a "convergence of pressures" hitting Bitcoin's main demand drivers simultaneously. He noted that the cryptocurrency reacts more rapidly and visibly to geopolitical instability than most other assets. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East also prompts central banks to consider interest rate hikes to control inflation, which typically dampens enthusiasm for both stock markets and cryptocurrencies.

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The correction that bitcoin is undergoing in 2026 reflects a convergence of pressures that are all hitting its main demand drivers simultaneously.

Simon Peters, an analyst at the brokerage eToro, observed a deterioration in market sentiment towards digital assets. He highlighted significant outflows from Bitcoin ETFs, which allow investors to gain exposure without direct ownership. Investors are currently showing more interest in the spectacular performance of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks and the anticipated IPO of SpaceX, which is expected to be the largest in history.

Further dampening investor morale was the recent announcement that Strategy, a company known for holding the largest private Bitcoin reserve, sold 32 bitcoins for $2.5 million. While Donald Trump's election had initially sparked enthusiasm in the crypto sector, subsequent delays in promised legislation and trade policies have tempered that optimism.

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Bitcoin reacts to this environment more quickly and visibly than most other assets.