Bitcoin Recovery Loses Momentum: Is $60K the Next Target?

Highlights:

• Bitcoin makes a minor rebound after hitting the $62,605 support 
• Rebound now puts the $66,064 resistance in focus 
• Failure at $66,064 resistance could send BTC to prices below $60k

Bitcoin (BTC) is in the green today, mirroring price action across major assets over the last 24 hours. When writing, Bitcoin was trading at $65,106.92, up by 2.91% in the day. In contrast, Bitcoin trading volumes are down intraday. They currently stand at $39.48 billion, down by 12.48% in the day. The drop in trading volume as the price makes a minor rebound is a strong indicator that the intraday gains are not drawing in new investors. This is likely driven by expectations that Bitcoin’s price will continue to decline in the foreseeable future. A couple of factors are driving the negative sentiment around Bitcoin at the moment. 

Bitcoin Recovery Weakens Amid Rising Tariffs and Geopolitical Fears

One of the biggest ones is the growing pressure on risk-on assets. This is mainly driven by the uncertainty around tariffs. The US Supreme Court recently offered a reprieve to the markets when it nullified Trump tariffs. However, President Trump shortly stated that he was raising global tariffs from 10% to 15%. This comes at a time when the risk of war with Iran has sparked fears of inflation and further long-term uncertainty.

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Donald Trump Raises Global Tariffs from 10% to 15%. pic.twitter.com/jOnsHVgaMF

— Sapna Singh (@earnwithsapna) February 21, 2026

The result is that capital is pivoting away from risk-on assets such as Bitcoin and into Gold and other assets that can retain value even in the face of maximum uncertainty. If other countries retaliate against the tariffs or the US makes a sudden attack on Iran, downside volatility could surge quickly. This could see Bitcoin drop to prices as low as $50k in a short time. Such a possibility is not only pushing buyers away but also emboldening short sellers, who are adding to downside price pressure. 

Bitcoin Correlated to Increasingly Bearish US Stock Indices

There is also a strong correlation between Bitcoin and US stocks. Bitcoin has a strong correlation to US stocks, particularly the NASDAQ. While this is a good thing in bullish markets, it could pose significant downside risks under current circumstances. Besides geopolitics and tariffs, US stocks are facing significant uncertainty due to AI.

The recent move by Anthropic to release a series of plugins that could render some industries obsolete has triggered a rush to rebalance portfolios. As this happens, some stocks that carry significant weight in the Nasdaq index are likely to drop going forward. The result is that the whole index could turn bearish, and with it, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Anthropic released Claude Cowork legal plugins and the stock market melts down.

There are hundreds of verticals like these, and plugins will disrupt each of them one-by-one.

Secure access to tools like Cowork is going to change how every company operates.

Oh, and RIP… pic.twitter.com/j1pTh08xuZ

— Andy Berman (@berman66) February 3, 2026

Bitcoin 4-Year Cycle Hints at Bearish 2026

The increasingly bearish trend for Bitcoin is also driven by the fact that the 4-year bull cycle seems to be holding strong. While the broader cryptocurrency market underperformed during the 2024/25 bull cycle, Bitcoin performed well and went on to set new all-time highs.

Going by the 4-year cycle, Bitcoin is supposed to be in a bear market for the remainder of 2026. Now that it is already bearish, investors are increasingly shorting it, expecting the bottom to remain far off. This could explain the rising volumes even when the price continues to show weakness. 

Technical Analysis – Bitcoin Breaks Down from Multi-day Consolidation

After multiple days of consolidation between the $70,509 resistance and $66,064 support, bears took control yesterday, February 24. This saw Bitcoin breach the $66,064 support level, with high volumes. However, this drop saw Bitcoin test the $62,572 support and bounce off it.

If the rebound holds and Bitcoin rallies through $66,064, now resistance, a rebound to $70,586 could follow. However, if bears regain control and push Bitcoin below the $62,605 support level, the price could drop to prices under $60k. Of these scenarios, a drop to $60k seems more likely due to a confluence of negative factors around risk-on assets.