In the volatile world of cryptocurrencies, the term 'bear market' is often mentioned, but few new investors truly understand its implications. Many entered the market in 2020-2021, or in 2024-2025, periods of euphoric rises, and have not experienced the intense bearish phases that have marked the history of cryptos. This article, inspired by a detailed thread on X (formerly Twitter), aims to demystify what a true bear market is, its consequences on prices, projects, and investor psychology, while providing advice on how to prepare for it.
According to data from Hyperbot, 10 minutes ago, Huang Licheng reduced his long position on ETH by 425 tokens. His long position on ETH is now 2,500 tokens (approximately 5.02 million dollars). In addition, he also holds a long position of 8,000 tokens VVV (approximately 2.87 dollars).
Currently, the total size of Huang Licheng's position is approximately 5.05 million dollars, with a latent loss of 94,000 dollars; his futures account recorded a loss of approximately 1.08 million dollars over the past week, for a cumulative loss reaching 26.02 million dollars.
L0REANO
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according to HyperInsight's monitoring, the address of "Big Brother Whale" Huang Licheng added to his long position in ETH 10 minutes ago, currently holding a long position of 2700 ETH with a leverage of 25x, for a floating profit of $150,000.
Interesting fact: Historically, BNB has often entered strong momentum phases after Lunar New Year, particularly when broader market liquidity expands in late Q1.
In 2021, BNB accelerated aggressively in the weeks following Lunar New Year and eventually reached its cycle ATH ($671) during one of the most explosive expansion phases of the market.
According to Bitcoin.com, Jurrien Timmer, global director of macroeconomics at Fidelity, stated on platform X that bitcoin recently fell to $60,000, reaching the support zone anticipated several months ago, which could indicate the formation of a bearish floor and the opening of a new phase of expansion. He emphasized that the drop to $60,000 remains relatively moderate and that as bitcoin matures, its volatility is expected to gradually decrease. He forecasts that after several months of consolidation, a new bullish cycle could begin, with the possibility of reaching new highs.
Timmer attached a chart analysis showing the correlation between the price of bitcoin and the global money supply, identifying $60,000 as a technical support level. Another chart, titled "The Path to Bitcoin Maturity", traces its historical waves: from early levels at $2 and $24, up to the breakthrough peak at $64,000, and points towards a projected sixth wave at $290,425. This model incorporates the adoption curve and macroeconomic variables, outlining a long-term framework towards a goal of one million dollars. He emphasized that if cycles and adoption trends continue, bitcoin could follow a structured maturity path after consolidating around $60,000.
According to The Fintech Times, the digital bank of the United Arab Emirates Zand is expanding its collaboration with Ripple, particularly by supporting RLUSD in the regulated digital asset custody services of Zand, studying direct liquidity solutions between the regulated stablecoin of the dirham AEDZ and RLUSD, as well as exploring the issuance of AEDZ on XRPL.
According to SaniExp, on February 14, 2026 (Saturday) at 23:53:18 (UTC+8), centralized exchanges hold a total of 3.4985 million BTC. Over the last 48 hours, individuals have sold 7,015 BTC. Historical data shows an increase of 5,482 BTC over 24 hours, 10,084 BTC over 48 hours, 16,231 BTC over 7 days, and 74,499 BTC since the beginning of the year.
Steve Kurz, head of asset management at Galaxy Digital, stated that the recent decline in cryptocurrencies reflects a healthy deleveraging, while infrastructure growth and institutional adoption support optimistic prospects. Kurz believes that the recent market decline was driven by liquidity factors and a reduction in leverage, rather than a systemic failure; the market cycle is more mature than in 2022, and most forced sales may be over. He emphasizes that stablecoins, tokenization, and the integration of blockchain with traditional finance are accelerating, with cryptocurrencies becoming financial assets and central financial infrastructures. He forecasts that there will not be a V-shaped rebound, but rather a gradual rise after a period of fluctuations, and that with the deepening of institutional capital, the "deep fusion" between cryptocurrencies and traditional finance will continue to progress.
The current total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market is $2.63 trillion, with an evaporation of $27.716 billion over 24 hours, representing a decrease of 1.04%. Among these, Bitcoin's market share is 52.96%, while Ethereum's is 9.69%.
X plans to launch cryptocurrency and stock trading features in the coming weeks, allowing users to trade directly via stock codes in posts. The product manager of X indicated that the internal payment system, X Money, is expected to launch an external beta version for testing in one to two months.
The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, posted on social media: "Recently, I've started to worry about the current state of prediction markets. Although the transaction volume on these markets is substantial enough to allow for meaningful bets, and some may even make it a full-time job, somewhat complementing journalistic information, the excessive reliance on short-term cryptocurrency prices, sports entertainment, and other forms of 'dopaminergic' gambling lacks long-term value and easily leads platforms to seek low-quality traffic, resulting in commercial corruption."
"To break this deadlock, we can steer the prediction market towards an entirely new use, widespread coverage. By designing the market as a risk management tool, users can hedge against future uncertainty through the prediction market, for example, in the face of fluctuations in business or personal spending, thus enhancing long-term utility. Compared to the current reliance on 'dumb money' investors, this approach is more sustainable and can attract quality capital.
Moreover, it may be possible to build a future financial model that does not require fiat currency: creating prediction markets based on price indices of major consumption categories, with each user generating a personalized portfolio via a local AI model to cover their anticipated future expenses. In this way, people can hold both growth assets (such as stocks, ETH) and gain stability through the prediction market, thus realizing the next generation of decentralized finance, surpassing the existing short-term speculative ecosystem. "
According to ChainCatcher, based on monitoring by HyperInsight, a whale (0x5d2f4) has canceled its limit buy order for BTC at $55,125 on Hyperliquid but still plans to buy 50 BTC when the price of BTC drops to $53,525; and to buy 100 BTC when BTC drops to $50,525.
This whale had entered a short position with a leverage of 20x on 499.91 BTC when bitcoin was at $111,499.3, and has now completely closed its position, realizing a cumulative profit of $61.41 million.
To all the women building, innovating, and inspiring in Web3 💛
Today, I celebrate your courage, your vision, and your determination. Every line of code, every project launched, and every community you grow proves that the future of blockchain is also being shaped by you.
Across the Binance tour and throughout the ecosystem, your energy is changing the game. Keep daring, creating, and showing the world that Web3 is stronger when women shine fully.
according to HyperInsight's monitoring, the address of "Big Brother Whale" Huang Licheng added to his long position in ETH 10 minutes ago, currently holding a long position of 2700 ETH with a leverage of 25x, for a floating profit of $150,000.
According to data from Coinglass, if Bitcoin exceeds $71,000, the cumulative intensity of short position liquidations on major CEX will reach $883 million.
Conversely, if Bitcoin falls below $68,000, the cumulative intensity of long position liquidations on major CEX will reach $664 million.
GM 🌞 According to data from CryptoRank, the inflows of bitcoin to accumulation addresses have reached their highest level since the beginning of 2022, with large holders continuing to buy during the price decline.
ETH is approaching a key technical area. The price of ETH is currently testing the major resistance located around $2059, an area characterized by a strong concentration of volumes. The buying ratio at 1.23 already indicates notable selling pressure at this level. The technical elements to watch: The J indicator has entered the extreme overbought zone, signaling an increased risk of a short-term correction. Potential formation of a top on the candlestick structure. The EMA24 and EMA52 remain oriented downward, confirming that the overall trend remains fragile.
The bill on the structure of the cryptocurrency market in the U.S. Senate is stalled due to the controversy over stablecoin yields. The banking sector had previously submitted documents to the White House requesting a complete ban on yields from stablecoins. The Digital Chamber published a principles document in response, estimating that activities related to stablecoins require certain incentives, but that the industry does not need to develop products that directly threaten bank deposits.
Mike McGlone expects inflation to be close to zero in 2026, Bitcoin could lead the recession. Mike McGlone of Bloomberg Intelligence stated that historical trends of the CPI indicate that in 2026, inflation could approach zero, and that Bitcoin could play a dominant role in an economic recession driven by deflation.
Divergent perspectives, but a common point emerges: the market may still go through a phase of uncertainty before the next major movement.
According to Peter Brandt, the true bottom of Bitcoin may not be reached until October 2026. He even mentions the possibility of a return to the $50,000 zone, despite short-term rebounds. On his side, Arthur Hayes believes that as long as the liquidity of the US dollar does not improve, ETH may remain stuck in a prolonged sideways phase.
A more constructive reading comes from Michaël van de Poppe, who considers that ETH is currently in an interesting accumulation zone, supported by a strong increase in stablecoin volumes in recent months.
Polymarket's predictive data illustrates this market uncertainty:
~41% chance that BTC falls back below 60,000 $ in the short term
~29% chance of a return to $75,000
~23% chance that BTC exceeds 120,000 $ by 2026
In summary, the market remains divided between the risk of new shocks and long-term accumulation opportunities. In this type of environment, risk management and patience often become more important than seeking the perfect timing.