Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) moved lower on Friday, reversing part of its recent rebound from weekly lows as investor risk appetite remained subdued. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now heading toward a fifth consecutive month of significant losses.
The broader cryptocurrency market largely followed Bitcoin’s direction, with digital assets also poised for notable declines in February as both retail and institutional investors continued to stay cautious toward the sector.
Bitcoin dropped nearly 1% to $67,788.0 as of 00:48 ET.
Bitcoin set for fifth straight monthly loss
The token was down roughly 14% for February, reflecting a persistent risk-off environment across crypto markets that showed little sign of easing throughout the month.
Rising geopolitical tensions worldwide, uncertainty surrounding major global economies, and concerns about potential disruptions linked to U.S. trade tariffs have kept investors wary of speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin at one point had fallen as much as 50% from its October record high earlier in the month, although prices have since staged a modest recovery from those lows.
Despite this bounce, the cryptocurrency has remained in a prolonged downward trend since October, with purchases by major corporate holder Strategy failing to meaningfully stabilize prices.
Strategy has also slowed the pace of its Bitcoin acquisitions in recent months amid concerns that continued price weakness could eventually force the company to liquidate part of its holdings to meet debt obligations.
MARA Holdings jumps as AI partnership outweighs weak earnings
Shares of MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), surged Thursday evening after the Bitcoin miner announced an agreement with Starwood Capital to repurpose some of its mining facilities into artificial intelligence data centers.
MARA shares climbed as much as 17% in after-hours trading.
The announcement of the AI partnership overshadowed the company’s $1.7 billion fourth-quarter loss, which reflected the impact of prolonged weakness in Bitcoin prices that has weighed heavily on mining profitability.
Revenue also missed analyst expectations. With Bitcoin under pressure and enthusiasm around artificial intelligence accelerating, MARA has increasingly shifted strategy toward deploying its computing infrastructure for AI data center operations rather than traditional crypto mining.
Crypto prices today: altcoin rebound loses momentum, February losses deepen
The broader crypto market declined again on Friday after a brief rebound earlier in the week, leaving many tokens on track for steep February losses.
Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 1.2% to $2,038.21 and was set to decline nearly 17% for the month. The token faced additional pressure after founder Vitalik Buterin sold more of his holdings, reinforcing cautious sentiment across the market.
XRP dropped 2.3% and was headed for a monthly loss of about 15%, while BNB traded mostly flat on Friday but remained down nearly 20% for February.
Solana has fallen roughly 17% this month, while Cardano was little changed. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin and $TRUMP declined 5.4% and 20%, respectively, over the course of February.