Weekly: Bitcoin below $65K, historic fear, and signals from miners

This week once again showed that the market is living in a heightened-sensitivity mode. A drop, a fast rebound, renewed pressure. And all of it against the backdrop of a historically low fear index.

We break down what’s really going on.

Bitcoin: a sharp move down and an unstable rebound

On the night of February 23, bitcoin dropped below $65,000. Daily futures liquidations exceeded $480 million — the market got cleared of excess leverage again.

By midweek, the price returned above $70,000, but couldn’t hold there. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added pressure, and the asset slid again.

BTC is now trading around $66,000. Volatility is back, and for now the market has no clear driver.

Jane Street and a new round of debate

The rebound coincided with a lawsuit by the Terraform Labs bankruptcy trustee against market maker Jane Street. The firm is accused of using insider information during the TerraUSD collapse.

The community has speculated that the firm may have changed its BTC selling strategy, temporarily reducing pressure on the market. How much it affected the price is hard to say — but the topic is being actively discussed.

Fear index at historic lows

At the start of the week, the Fear & Greed Index fell to 5 points out of 100. This level has been recorded only a few times in the entire observation history: in 2019, 2022, and now.

This is the extreme fear zone. Historically, such values often совпided with local bottoms, but there are no guarantees.

ETFs: institutions are cutting exposure

Over $315 million flowed out of spot bitcoin ETFs over the week. Looking broader, in Q4 2025 large players reduced positions by more than 25,000 BTC.

At the same time, Google search queries about buying bitcoin hit a five-year high. This may indicate a gradual return of interest from retail investors.

Miners: three months of pressure

In early February, the average cost of mining BTC rose to $87,000, while the market price stayed in the $60–65K range. Some companies had to shut down equipment and sell reserves. Bitdeer, for example, liquidated more than 900 BTC.

The Hash Ribbon indicator is now signaling a possible end to this capitulation phase. If the process has indeed ended, it could be a positive signal for the market.

A bitcoin reserve in Missouri

In the state of Missouri, a bill was introduced to create a strategic bitcoin reserve. The initiative предусматривает accepting donations in BTC and building a long-term crypto fund.

The topic of state crypto reserves is gradually moving from discussion to actual legislative decisions.

Positions of public figures

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas said he keeps up to 70% of his liquid assets in bitcoin and does not change his stance even during pullbacks.

At the same time, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales expressed skepticism about bitcoin’s role as a universal currency of the future and suggested the price could drop significantly.

The debate around the first cryptocurrency is heating up again.

Altcoins: a redistribution of interest

Ethereum fell to $1,850, and more than $120 million was withdrawn from ETH-based funds over the week. By the end of the week, the asset partially recovered and is trading around $1,979.

Solana fell below $80, which affected corporate activity. At the same time, funds based on Solana, Avalanche, Chainlink, XRP, and Hedera showed inflows. Institutions are likely looking for new entry points.

Ethereum updates

The Ethereum Foundation presented a draft roadmap through 2029. It includes a series of regular hard forks, scaling of layer-2 solutions, higher transaction throughput, and the introduction of native privacy.

A mechanism for pre-transaction simulation is also being discussed, so users can see the outcome before confirming. This should reduce mistakes and losses.

Regulation and investigations

In the US, a bill was introduced to protect blockchain developers from wrongful prosecution. In parallel, Binance is being reviewed for potential санкционных violations.

Crypto detective ZachXBT published materials about alleged insider trading in the Axiom project. The team said it is conducting an internal review.

AI: big money and layoffs

OpenAI raised $110 billion at a $730 billion valuation. Block cut around 4,000 employees amid active automation adoption.

Analysts warn that mass AI adoption could significantly impact the labor market as early as 2028.

Conclusion

The market is in a phase of elevated nervousness. The fear index is at historic lows, miners are emerging from a prolonged capitulation, institutions are reducing exposure, while retail interest is growing.

The situation remains fragile, but this is no longer a chaotic crash. Rather, it’s a period of revaluation and a search for balance.