Crypto market sheds over 50% of its value amid Bitcoin's brief decline below $60K

The crypto market has erased more than half of its value since reaching an all-time high in late 2025. The decline underscores the severity of the recent bear market and lack of a fresh catalyst to revive investor interest, according to a Wednesday X post by The Kobeissi Letter.

The total crypto market cap peaked at a record $4.3 trillion on October 6, 2025. Since then, the sector has experienced a prolonged decline, with its total value falling to approximately $2.1 trillion. The decline represents a loss of roughly $2.2 trillion in market value over 261 days, equivalent to a 54% drawdown from the cycle peak.

Analysts at the Kobeissi Letter noted that digital assets have collectively lost an average of $8.8 billion in value every day since the October peak, highlighting the sustained nature of the sell-off rather than a single capitulation event.

Bitcoin slips below $60K following broad market weakness

Bitcoin (BTC) has borne much of the pressure during the market-wide decline. The asset briefly fell below the $60,000 level on Wednesday, reflecting a combination of weakening momentum, profit-taking activity and broader macroeconomic headwinds.

As a result, Bitcoin is trading below its True Market Mean, which currently sits near $77,000, according to onchain analytics firm Glassnode in a Wednesday report. The gap suggests that many recent buyers remain underwater, creating a challenging environment for sustained recovery despite the possibility of a bottom formation.

“This is a constructive development from a cyclical perspective, as it marks a key step toward bottom formation where incoming capital is being deployed at prices increasingly disconnected from the recent cycle's overheated levels,” Glassnode wrote.

The report described current conditions as a "loss-dominant environment," with the 90-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of Net Realized Profit/Loss falling to -$205 million per day.

Bitcoin in loss-driven market amid emerging bottom signal

Glassnode added that ongoing realized losses continue to exert downward pressure on Bitcoin's Realized Price, currently near $53,400.

At the same time, a substantial concentration of short-term holder supply between $66,800 and $70,700 remains a key overhead resistance zone. Investors who accumulated Bitcoin within that range may be inclined to sell if prices recover, thereby limiting near-term upside momentum.

“A sustained reclaim above $66.8K would meaningfully reduce this overhead pressure and raise the probability of extending toward the Short-Term Holder Cost Basis at $71.4K in the mid-term. Until then, this local overhang remains an active anchor weighing on upside momentum,” Glassnode added.

Institutional demand has also remained weak. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded persistent outflows averaging nearly $300 million per day, with Grayscale's GBTC accounting for the largest share of withdrawals.

“This suggests the weakness is being driven primarily by legacy holder liquidation and portfolio rebalancing, rather than a uniform retreat across the entire ETF complex,” Glassnode stated.

The firm noted that this correction differs from previous pullbacks, in which ETF investors often stepped in to buy the weakness and provide meaningful support for Bitcoin’s price. Instead, the current drawdown has been accompanied by sustained redemptions, suggesting many investors are reducing exposure rather than accumulating.

Bitcoin is trading at $60,870, down 2.8% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing.