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The Money Desk · Blog
Re:

Why Bitcoin Is Down About 32% a Year After Its $126,000 Record High

Bitcoin’s anniversary loss was about 32%, but its interim decline exceeded 53%. Here’s how the numbers differ and what may have contributed.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
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Bitcoin was about 32% below its October 2025 record on the one-year anniversary—not because it fell only that far during the year, but because it recovered after a much deeper slide. CoinDesk reported Bitcoin at $85,453 on October 6, 2026, compared with a record above $126,000 on October 6, 2025. It had fallen below $59,000 by June 30, a decline of more than 53% from the record.

What does “down 32%” measure?

The figure is a comparison between two dates: Bitcoin’s reported price on October 6, 2026, and its record above $126,000 on October 6, 2025. CoinDesk put the anniversary price at $85,453, about 32% below that record. It is a dated snapshot, not a claim that Bitcoin’s largest loss during the year was 32%. Prices can differ by trading venue and timestamp, so the figure should be read as CoinDesk’s reported comparison rather than a universal closing price. CoinDesk’s anniversary analysis

The path between those dates was much rougher. Bitcoin dropped below $59,000 on June 30, 2026—more than 53% below the record—before recovering toward the October anniversary. CoinDesk’s report and the SEC-filed Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF quarterly filing document the June low. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF filing with the SEC

How does this compare with earlier Bitcoin declines?

CoinDesk calculated that Bitcoin was further below earlier peaks at their one-year anniversaries. These are one-year-after-peak comparisons, not the largest loss in each cycle.

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Peak CoinDesk-calculated decline one year later
2013 69.7%
December 2017 82.3%
November 2021 74.6%
October 2025 About 32% on October 6, 2026

CoinDesk also says past bear markets saw peak-to-trough losses of 77% to 85%. For the 2025–26 decline, it reports a drop of more than 53% by June 30. The measurements are not interchangeable: an anniversary return is the change between two dates, while maximum drawdown tracks the deepest interim fall from the peak. CoinDesk describes the 2026 trough as arriving around nine months after the October peak, earlier than the one-year-or-later trough timing it describes for previous cycles. The sources do not establish a harmonized dataset using identical price venues and definitions for every historical cycle. CoinDesk’s historical comparison and drawdown analysis

What factors may have contributed to the fall?

No cited source establishes one definitive cause—or a precise breakdown of causes—for the full October 2025–October 2026 move. Reporting identifies several factors that may have contributed or coincided with parts of the decline.

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Leverage amplified the October 2025 shock

A Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF filing says Bitcoin lost approximately 14% in mid-October 2025 amid wider market turmoil widely attributed to global trade tensions. The filing describes forced unwinding and exchange dislocations and cites reports of up to $20 billion in liquidations of digital-asset collateral. That “up to” figure covers reported collateral liquidations across digital assets; it is not a Bitcoin-only total. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF filing with the SEC

Rates and inflation shaped the macro backdrop

BlackRock’s December 12, 2025 commentary identified changing expectations for Federal Reserve policy and higher U.S. real yields as factors affecting Bitcoin. It also noted Bitcoin’s historical sensitivity to U.S. dollar real rates. Separately, the Federal Reserve’s July 2026 Monetary Policy Report recorded 12-month PCE inflation of 4.1% through May 2026, compared with 2.5% a year earlier. That is economic context, not evidence that the Fed attributed Bitcoin’s price move to inflation. BlackRock’s Bitcoin Market Commentary · Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Report, July 2026

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Some long-time holders may have rebalanced

BlackRock said some long-time holders treated $100,000 as a psychological or portfolio-rebalancing level and began reducing concentrated exposure after Bitcoin crossed it. This is BlackRock’s interpretation of holder behavior, not a measurement establishing that all long-time holders sold. The same December 2025 commentary reported that large share-price premiums for digital-asset treasury companies had vanished, removing a potential source of buying pressure and raising questions about possible asset sales. It does not prove that every such company sold Bitcoin. BlackRock’s Bitcoin Market Commentary

ETF flows and market structure changed the setting

The SEC filing says U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products had their largest quarterly net outflows since launch during Q2 2026, according to the sources it cites; the passage does not give a flow total. CoinDesk points to institutional ETF flows and reduced leverage as structural differences from earlier cycles, alongside a changing mix of participants. These developments may affect how a decline unfolds, but they do not establish that institutions have replaced retail investors as the sole price driver or that ETFs guarantee a price floor. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF filing with the SEC · CoinDesk’s anniversary analysis

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Does the smaller anniversary decline mean the worst is over?

No. The October figure describes where Bitcoin stood on one anniversary date; it cannot establish that a cycle bottom is in or predict the next move. CoinDesk cautions that a comparatively shallow correction does not rule out sharper downside. Historical comparisons provide context, not a forecast.

Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey Group, told CoinDesk: “The most notable changes are the significantly shortened duration of the drawdown and the reduced time spent at the bottom.” That observation describes the path CoinDesk was analyzing; it does not make the shorter drawdown a guarantee of recovery. CoinDesk’s report and quotation from Tim Sun

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