Bitcoin’s sharp decline triggered a broad-based sell-off across the cryptocurrency market, wiping roughly $2 trillion off its combined market value, Reuters reports.
On Friday, February 6, bitcoin partly recovered after hitting its lowest level in 16 months. The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 3.3% to $65,198.20, clawing back some losses after sliding 5% during the session and falling as low as $60,008.52.
A day earlier, around $1 billion in bitcoin positions were forcibly closed. More broadly, since the market reached a peak value of $4.379 trillion in early October, its total worth has shrunk by $2 trillion, with investors losing about $800 billion in the past month alone.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, fell more than 13% late on Thursday to $1,854. Over the week, it was down 19%, and since the start of the year its losses have reached almost 38%.
Pressure on crypto markets intensified amid sell-offs in metals and equities. Volatility in gold and silver rose as leveraged trades and speculative flows took hold. Silver, in particular, fell as much as 18%, sliding to a low of $72.21.
“We believe this broader decline is largely being driven by a sizeable outflow from institutional ETFs,” analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a note to clients. “Since the market’s turn in October 2025, billions of dollars have been leaving these funds each month.”