Heads Up! Bitcoin Enters Capitulation Mode, Trades In a ‘Phase That Rewards Discipline Over Prediction’

Bitcoin (BTC) has entered a key capitulation phase, analysts argue. However, positioning, discipline, and risk management now matter much more than price predictions.

Additionally, BTC is now moving through a sustained reset rather than a brief correction. This may last for months to come, analysts note.

That said, amid macro uncertainty, institutional outflows, declining liquidity, compressed volatility, and dampened risk appetite, Bitcoin as a barometer for broader capital sentiment is on the rise.

At the time of writing (Thursday, 14:00 UTC), BTC was trading at $69,313, having dropped 7.9% in a day.

‘Bitcoin Capitulation’

Nic Puckrin, investment analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau, commented on BTC’s recent and major pullback, particularly its fall to the $70,000 level.

“As Bitcoin continues its slide toward the psychological barrier of $70,000, it’s clear the crypto market is now in full capitulation mode,” he said.

Per Puckrin, based on data provided by previous cycles, the current situation is “no longer a short-term correction, but rather a transition from distribution to reset.” These typically take months, not weeks, he warns.

The analyst now expects BTC to fight to defend the $70,000 threshold. If it breaks below, it could proceed lower towards its bear market low around the $55,700-$58,200 territory.

Meanwhile, Puckrin also noted that the market is slipping as Bitcoin whales are going for large-scale selling. At the same time, institutional outflows are increasing.

Yet, while Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are seeing negative flows, the majority of ETF holders are sitting on paper losses. It is Bitcoin OGs who are doing most of the selling, Puckrin says, citing Bloomberg data.

“This is Bitcoin’s institutionalisation in action,” the analyst concludes.

‘Discipline Over Prediction’

Nic Roberts-Huntley, CEO and co-founder of Blueprint Finance, argues that Bitcoin’s latest drop doesn’t suggest a fundamental breakdown in demand. Instead, it reflects a broader risk-off sentiment across markets.

The number one coin has struggled to hold key technical levels. Liquidity dried up and forced liquidations intensified, the CEO said.

Additionally, macro uncertainty and risk sentiment are currently driving flows, as evidenced by the demand for precious metals and other traditional hedges.

“That said, if macro clarity returns, liquidity improves, and key support holds, Bitcoin could stabilise and set the stage for a recovery rally later in the cycle,” Roberts-Huntley wrote.

“In the near term, traders and investors should be watching whether BTC can defend the mid-$70,000s and reclaim the $78,000–$80,000 zone.” These are key levels to monitor.

Meanwhile, Tony Severino, market analyst at YouHodler, wrote that the common theme across markets this week “is not direction, but compression.”

Bitcoin is “locked in one of the tightest volatility regimes in its history.” At the same time, currency volatility is rising even as the dollar softens, and metals are holding extreme levels without breaking.

“These conditions tend to frustrate short-term participants, but they also signal that markets are working off time rather than trend,” Severino wrote.

He argued that macro forces are shifting, while technical structures across assets suggest that resolution is nearing. Timing, though, is still unclear.

“When volatility expands from these conditions, history suggests the move is unlikely to be subtle. Until then, patience, positioning, and risk management remain the real edge,” the analyst concluded.

‘Bitcoin Serves as a Barometer’

Bitunix analysts identified renewed tensions in the Middle East, as well as the AI-sector-fuelled “repricing-driven selloff” in technology stocks, as major factors affecting markets.

When it comes to BTC specifically, it retraced 45% from last year’s high of $126,080. The overall market pullback suggests that “the excess risk premium accumulated earlier has been systematically squeezed out.” Subsequently, this has led to market sensitivity to liquidity conditions, as well as elevated uncertainty.

Additionally, “Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a result indicator of whether markets are willing to reabsorb risk,” the analysts say. In other words, BTC “serves as a barometer of whether capital is willing to re-engage with higher-risk assets.”

If the cryptocurrency manages to reclaim $75,000 and remain structurally stable there amid mounting macro uncertainty, it would imply that the market’s pricing of systemic liquidity risk remains restrained.

However, a sustained break below $75,000 would indicate that risk appetite has yet to recover.

That said, “as long as global capital remains defensively positioned and structural deleveraging is incomplete, the crypto market is unlikely to decouple from macro-driven risk pricing,” the analysts argue.

Market participants should continue to monitor geopolitical tensions and assess the risk of escalation into conflict. Another factor is that the technology sector repricing could potentially trigger a broader balance-sheet contraction across asset classes.