Bitcoin is on pace for its weakest first quarter in about eight years so far it is already down around 22 percent since the year started
It opened the year near 87700 dollars and has dropped close to 20000 dollars to the current area around 68000 putting it in line with the rough 2018 bear market when prices fell nearly 50 percent.
Bitcoin has finished the first quarter in the red in seven out of the last thirteen years
The latest drops were in 2025 with an 11.8 percent fall in 2020 with about 10.8 percent and the worst was back in 2018 when it crashed almost 50 percent in only three months
Analyst Daan Trades Crypto said the first quarter is usually very wild and full of swings
He also pointed out that what happens in Q1 often does not decide how the rest of the year will play out based on past price moves.
First-ever red Jan and Feb?
Bitcoin has only had back to back losing first quarters twice and both times were during heavy bear markets in 2018 and again in 2022
On the other side Ethereum has closed Q1 in the red just three times out of the last nine years and this year is shaping up to be one of its worst so far with losses around 34 percent
At the same time Bitcoin is also close to something it has never done before posting losses in both January and February
It dropped about 10.2 percent in January and is already down roughly 13.4 percent this month and would need to move back above 80000 dollars to avoid another red month.
Bitcoin is in a correctional phase
With all the global economic uncertainty right now Bitcoin’s price action looks more like a normal pullback than any real damage to its long term trend
The analyst explained that short term pressure could stay if macro conditions remain tough but history shows Bitcoin usually bounces back strong later on especially with growing institutional interest and the halving cycle helping over time
For now BTC has logged its fifth straight week in the red dropping another 2.3 percent in the last day and trading around 68670 dollars at the time of writing
