Bitcoin claws up to $65,000, set for largest weekly drop since late 2022

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Bitcoin broke back above $65,000 on Friday, as a global rout in technology stocks that had vaporised many risky bets across asset classes showed tentative signs of slowing. Bitcoin was still set for its worst weekly performance since late 2022 as cryptocurrencies have struggled for months since a record crash last October sent bitcoin tumbling from an all-time peak and investor sentiment towards digital assets has cooled.  The world's largest cryptocurrency was last up 4.4% at $65,894.20, clawing back losses after having slid 5% to hit a low of $60,008.52 earlier on. So far this week, it's lost nearly 14% in value, the most in a week since November 2022. The price is still around its weakest since early October 2024. That was just before bitcoin's rally accelerated as Donald Trump closed in on winning the U.S. presidential election, having signalled his intention to support crypto on the campaign trail. "Bitcoin's been going down since October (2025), maybe you could ask if it was the canary in the coalmine, or a coincidence," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne. "A lot of these big crowded positions are being unwound very, very quickly." Ether was last up 4% at $1,921, having similarly slid close to a 10-month low of $1,751.94 earlier in the session. It was headed for a weekly decline of nearly 16% and a year-to-date decline of 35%. The global crypto market has lost some $2 trillion in value since hitting a peak of $4.379 trillion in early October, CoinGecko data showed, with more than $1 trillion wiped out over the past month alone. Sentiment towards crypto had been affected by the latest selling in precious metals and stocks. Gold and silver, for instance, have become more volatile as a result of leveraged buying and speculative flows. Bitcoin's fortunes have been tied to the broader tech sector for some time. The price tended to rise, particularly on the back of investor enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.  "Bitcoin drifting back toward $60,000 is not crypto dying, it is the bill coming due for Treasuries and funds that treated bitcoin as a one-way asset without real risk controls, just as we have seen sharp corrections in self-proclaimed safe-haven assets like gold and silver when leverage and narrative ran ahead of reality," said Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association. "Those who bet too big, borrowed too much or assumed prices only go up are now finding out the hard way what real market volatility and risk management look like." Analysts from Deutsche Bank said in a note that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs witnessed outflows of more than $3 billion in January, following outflows of about $2 billion and $7 billion in December and November, respectively. "February is not panning out well for stock market bulls so far, we shall have to see if bitcoin’s recovery above $65,000 is a sign that a deeper recovery is on the cards," XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said. (Reporting by Rae Wee and Tom Westbrook in Singapore and Amanda Cooper in London; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Michael Perry and Susan Fenton)

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