Bitcoin declined on Friday, halting a recovery from its midweek lows as investor risk appetite stayed weak. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now on track for a fifth straight month of significant losses.
The broader crypto market moved largely in line with Bitcoin and is also poised for steep losses in February, as both retail and institutional investors continued to avoid the sector.
By 00:48 ET (05:48 GMT), Bitcoin was down nearly 1% at $67,788.0.
Bitcoin on track for fifth straight monthly decline
Bitcoin was down nearly 14% in February, as the risk-off sentiment in the crypto market showed little sign of easing throughout the month.
Rising geopolitical tensions worldwide, uncertainty surrounding major global economies, and concerns over further disruptions from U.S. trade tariffs kept investors cautious and away from speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.
The digital asset dropped as much as 50% from its October record high earlier this month, though it has since staged a modest recovery from those lows.
Bitcoin has remained in a sustained downtrend since October, with purchases by major corporate holder Strategy doing little to stem the losses.
Strategy has also reportedly slowed its pace of Bitcoin acquisitions in recent months, amid mounting concerns that continued price declines could force the company to sell part of its holdings to service its debt.
MARA Holdings jumps as AI deal eclipses weak Q4 results
Shares of MARA Holdings — previously known as Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA) — surged Thursday evening after the Bitcoin mining company revealed a partnership with Starwood Capital to repurpose several of its mining facilities into artificial intelligence data centers. The stock climbed as much as 17% in after-hours trading.
The announcement helped eclipse a steep $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter, driven by an extended slump in Bitcoin prices that severely pressured the firm’s mining profitability. Revenue also came in below expectations.
Amid continued weakness in Bitcoin and growing investor enthusiasm around AI, MARA has recently been shifting strategy, aiming to redeploy its computing infrastructure toward AI data center operations rather than focusing solely on cryptocurrency mining.
Crypto prices today: Altcoin recovery fades, February losses loom
Crypto markets retreated on Friday, giving back much of this week’s brief rebound, with most tokens on track to post steep declines for February.
The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, slipped 1.2% to $2,038.21 and was heading for a monthly drop of nearly 17%. The token faced additional pressure after co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold more of his holdings, reinforcing cautious sentiment across the market.
XRP fell 2.3% and was poised to lose around 15% in February, while BNB held steady on Friday but remained down close to 20% for the month.
Solana was also nursing losses of roughly 17% in February, whereas Cardano traded largely unchanged. In the meme coin segment, Dogecoin declined 5.4% for the month, while Official Trump tumbled about 20% over the same period.
Sources: Ambar Warrick
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