Bitcoin slid below $66,000 early Friday, 27 February 2026, in the US session as fresh macroeconomic concerns rattled investors and pressured risk assets across global markets. The largest cryptocurrency fell about 3% within hours, dropping from around US$68,000 to US$65,600 and erasing most of Wednesday’s (25 February 2026) rally.
The broader CoinDesk 20 Index declined 2.3% over the past 24 hours. Ether, XRP, and Solana posted similar losses. At the same time, US equities moved lower, with the Nasdaq down 0.8% and the S&P 500 slipping 0.6%.
Crypto-linked stocks also retreated. Strategy fell 3%, Coinbase lost more than 2%, and Circle declined nearly 5%, ending a sharp rebound that had lifted the stock close to 50% in recent sessions.
Investors reacted to stronger-than-expected inflation data released earlier in the week. January’s core Producer Price Index rose 3.6% year-over-year. Economists had expected a 3.0% increase. The prior reading stood at 3.3%.
As a result, markets now price in a 96% probability that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady at its March 18 meeting. Traders adjusted expectations quickly after the report.
Stress in the credit market added to the cautious tone. Credit spreads widened to their highest level in four months. Private equity firms KKR, Ares, and Apollo Global Management dropped between 6% and 7% during the session and touched fresh lows.
Meanwhile, crypto miners faced deeper losses. IREN, Cipher Mining, Core Scientific, and TeraWulf fell between 6% and 8%. These companies have become increasingly linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure buildouts, which adds another layer of market sensitivity.
Against this backdrop, Bitcoin’s pullback tracked broader risk-off moves across asset classes.
Even as prices slipped, exchange-traded fund investors showed limited reaction. Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, wrote on X that ETF investors displayed “diamond hands” during the recent downturn.
Diamond hands refers to holding an asset through volatility without selling.
Since Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak near US$126,000, the cryptocurrency has fallen into the lower US$60,000 range. During that period, around US$6.5 billion flowed out of ETFs, according to Geraci. Yet total inflows since January 2025 reached US$107 billion.
Geraci described the outflows as a “drop in the bucket” compared to overall allocations. Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, echoed that view on X. He wrote that ETF strength during a 50% drawdown stands out to market observers.
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Earlier in 2025, geopolitical tensions between Israel, Iran, and the United States rattled markets. Even then, Bitcoin ETFs recorded 10 consecutive days of inflows, according to Ecoinometrics data.
Today’s data show that fewer than 10% of ETF holdings have exited during the drawdown. That pattern suggests steady allocation behavior among institutional investors.
Will this resilience continue if macro pressures intensify further?
Bitcoin fell below US$66,000 as hotter inflation data and wider credit stress pushed investors away from risk assets. Crypto stocks and miners also dropped. Still, Bitcoin ETFs showed strong staying power, with limited outflows during the wider drawdown. Market attention now remains fixed on macro pressure and investor conviction.