Bitcoin Slides Below $66,000 as Crypto Sentiment Hits Record Low

February 12, 2024 – The cryptocurrency market opened the day on a downbeat note, with the flagship token Bitcoin slipping beneath the $66,000 threshold and Ethereum retreating under $2,000. The broader market’s total capitalization remained essentially unchanged at roughly $2.33 trillion, but investor mood has deteriorated to an unprecedented level of “extreme fear.”

Price Action and Market Breadth

• Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $65,750 at the time of writing, marking a modest daily decline and a 5 % loss over the past week.
• Ethereum (ETH) hovered near $1,910, little moved on the day but down about 4 % week‑over‑week.
• Other large‑cap assets displayed mixed performance: Binance Coin (BNB) gained close to 2 % intra‑day but remains down almost 10 % for the week; Solana (SOL) slipped half a percent and is down 8 % on the weekly chart.
• Weekly gainers among the top‑10 were Ripple (XRP) and Figure Heloc (FIGR_HELOC), each posting roughly a 4 % rise.

Despite the price pull‑back, the total market cap has held steady, suggesting that the decline is more reflective of sentiment than of a broad sell‑off in capitalisation.

Sentiment Indicator Hits Historic Low

The Alternative.me Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to a reading of 5, the lowest level ever recorded. The index, which measures market emotion across volatility, market momentum, social media activity and surveys, now classifies the environment as “extreme fear,” a more pessimistic reading than any previous bear market phase.

Glassnode analysts highlighted the growing disconnect between price moves and sentiment, interpreting the data as evidence of sustained market stress rather than a definitive capitulation. Their on‑chain metrics show that the 30‑day simple moving average of net flows into spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs has stayed negative for most of the last three months, indicating a persistent lack of fresh demand.

ETF Flows and Liquidity

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of over $276 million on February 11, reversing a prior inflow streak.
• Spot Ethereum ETFs suffered even larger net withdrawals, exceeding $129 million.

Glassnode’s recent research note warned that liquidity remains thin, with many traders holding defensive positions. In the absence of renewed inflows into spot products or an improvement in risk appetite, short‑term positioning is expected to dominate price dynamics.

Movers and Liquidations

Among the top‑100 crypto assets by market cap, Aster (ASTER) surged more than 7 % after the project announced a mainnet launch slated for March. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token posted a similar gain, extending its recent rebound.

Conversely, Uniswap (UNI) led the large‑cap losers, dropping 11.6 % and erasing gains from the previous day’s rally that followed news of a strategic investment from BlackRock.

Liquidation data from CoinGlass show that over 120,000 traders were forced to exit positions in the last 24 hours, amounting to roughly $285 million in total liquidated value. Bitcoin accounted for about $118 million and Ethereum for $65 million of that total.

Macro backdrop

U.S. Treasury yields moved lower after the release of fresh labour‑market data. The 10‑year note slipped to 4.158 % and the 30‑year to 4.782 %, while investors await the upcoming consumer‑price‑index report due Friday. The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims of 227,000 for the week ending Feb. 7, slightly above forecasts but a modest improvement from the previous week. The broader macro environment, therefore, remains a mix of mild optimism on employment data and lingering caution ahead of inflation readings.

Key Takeaways

1. Sentiment is at a historic low. The Fear & Greed Index’s reading of 5 signals deep “extreme fear,” surpassing previous bear‑market lows.
2. Spot ETF outflows underline weak demand. Continued net withdrawals from both Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs suggest that institutional capital is not currently flowing back into the market.
3. Liquidity is thin and defensive. On‑chain flow metrics and high liquidation volumes point to a market where short‑term traders dominate and price swings are more likely to be driven by position adjustments than by fundamental inflows.
4. Price stability despite sentiment dip. The overall market cap remains flat, indicating that the recent price declines are more a reflection of sentiment than of a rapid erosion of capital.
5. Macro factors remain pivotal. U.S. treasury yields and forthcoming inflation data will continue to shape risk appetite and could either exacerbate the current fear or provide a catalyst for a sentiment lift.

Investors and market participants should monitor ETF flow data, on‑chain net flow trends, and macroeconomic releases closely, as these variables appear to be the primary drivers of the current market environment.

Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/bitcoin-under-usd66000-crypto-market-update-feb-12-2026