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Bitcoin logs worst first 50-day start to a year on record
Bitcoin is on course for its first ever back to back declines in January and February.
Feb 20, 2026, 5:47 a.m. 1 min read
What to know:
- Bitcoin is down 23% through the first 50 days of 2026, marking its weakest start to a financial year on record.
- The asset has never previously posted consecutive declines in January and February, with February currently on track to extend January’s losses.
Fifty days into 2026, bitcoin is off to its worst start to a financial year on record, according to Checkonchain data. The asset is down 23% year to date, having fallen 10% in January and a further 15% in February.
Bitcoin has never previously recorded back-to-back declines in January and February, according to Coinglass data. While there have been double digit drops in January in years such as 2015, 2016 and 2018, each of those was followed by a positive February. If losses hold, bitcoin is also on track for its weakest consecutive monthly performance since 2022.
Checkonchain data shows that in a typical down year, the average index reading is 0.84, 50 days in, a benchmark that traders often use to gauge cyclical drawdowns. While bitcoin is currently at 0.77, underscoring the scale of the drawdown.
The weakness follows a 17% decline in 2025, a post election year. Historically, post election years have tended to outperform election years and have outperformed up years on aggregate, making the recent underperformance stand out further.
Sizin için daha fazlası
Deribit’s bitcoin open interest has overtaken BlackRock’s IBIT as traders brace for a showdown between $75K max pain and $80K call positioning.
Bilinmesi gerekenler:
- A total of 80,535 contracts worth $6.25 billion are set to settle on Deribit on May 29.
- The $75,000 strike holds the largest put concentration at $394 million in notional value, while the $80,000 call strike dominates on the upside with $532 million.
- The put/call ratio of 0.86 reflects a...
