Bitcoin tumbled to roughly $59,685 on Friday — its lowest level since October 2024 — kicking off a brutal session that erased more than $2 trillion from the total crypto market cap since its $4.2-trillion peak last October. Ethereum slid 12.8% to $1,550, its weakest since April 2025, while XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin each dropped over 5%. The sell-off, driven by heavy ETF outflows and renewed geopolitical tensions, has pushed sentiment deep into 'extreme fear' territory.
A brutal Friday for crypto
The slide didn't spare anyone. Bitcoin's market capitalization alone sank from roughly $2.5 trillion to about $1.2 trillion — a 52% haircut. Ethereum's 12.8% drop was its steepest single-day decline in months. The broad-based rout left every top-10 coin in the red, with altcoins taking the worst of it. Trading volumes spiked as panic selling picked up in the afternoon.
Why the market is falling
Two forces are pulling the market down at once. First, significant outflows from Bitcoin ETFs have reversed the inflow momentum that helped drive prices to $126,000 last year. Second, rising geopolitical tensions — the facts don't specify where, but the effect is clear — are pushing investors toward cash and Treasuries, away from risk assets. The combination has broken the fragile support levels that held through early 2026.
Extreme fear grips the market
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 16 on Friday, firmly in 'extreme fear' territory and well below the neutral 50 mark. That matches the kind of readings seen during the worst washouts of previous cycles. Kalshi traders aren't betting on a quick rebound: the prediction market expects Bitcoin to end the year around $65,000, barely above today's level. That forecast suggests traders see more pain ahead, not a V-shaped recovery.
Bitcoin's long slide from the highs
Bitcoin is now down more than 50% from its all-time high of about $126,000, reached in October 2025. That $126,000 peak now looks like a distant memory. The question hanging over the market is whether $59,685 is the bottom or just another way station on a longer descent. With ETF money still flowing out and no catalyst on the horizon, Friday's low might not hold — but Kalshi's year-end prediction of $65,000 implies the market sees at least a modest recovery from here. No one's calling a bottom yet.
