Business & Economics
Bitcoin Craters to 16-Month Low, Wiping US$2 Trillion Off Crypto After Warsh Fed Shock
On 5-6 Feb 2026 Bitcoin sank to about US$60,000—its weakest since Oct 2024—triggering the largest one-day fall since Nov 2022 and erasing roughly US$2 trillion in total crypto value since the market’s October 2025 peak.
Focusing Facts
- Bitcoin touched an intraday low of US$60,008.52 on 6 Feb 2026, down 12.6 % in a single session.
- Aggregate crypto-market capitalisation has fallen from US$4.379 trn in early Oct 2025 to roughly US$2.4 trn, a loss of US$2 trn—over US$800 bn of which vanished in the last month.
- CoinGlass data show about US$1 bn in leveraged bitcoin positions were liquidated within 24 hours of the plunge.
Context
Market crashes rarely stem from a single headline; like the 1907 Knickerbocker panic or the 2000 dot-com bust, leverage, narrative excess and a sudden policy jolt combine. Trump’s surprise nomination of noted monetary hawk Kevin Warsh echoes Paul Volcker’s 1979 ascent, when fears of tighter money punctured asset bubbles almost overnight. The linkage of bitcoin to tech momentum and low-rate liquidity now looks less like digital gold and more like the 1720 South Sea trade, where speculative enthusiasm eclipsed fundamentals until credit tightened. Long term, this week underscores a structural trend: crypto pricing remains pro-cyclical with global liquidity, not counter-cyclical as ‘safe-haven’ rhetoric claims. Whether decentralised networks survive the bust may matter on a 100-year horizon, but the immediate shake-out is pruning excess leverage much as the 1893 railway crash ultimately strengthened U.S. industrial finance. The event’s importance lies less in the dollar figure lost than in demonstrating that, five cycles in, crypto markets still lack mature risk controls and remain hostage to central-bank policy they aspired to sidestep.
Perspectives
International financial news agencies
CNA, AsiaOne — Portray the plunge as a classic risk-off move sparked by tech-stock and metal volatility that is spilling into every speculative corner, with bitcoin merely the latest casualty of a broad market sell-off. By spotlighting macro market turmoil rather than crypto-specific flaws, these outlets may underplay structural weaknesses in digital assets, keeping the narrative comfortably within their wider markets brief.
South Asian mainstream outlets wary of crypto
NDTV, The Times of India — Frame the rout as the bursting of a policy-fuelled bubble, stressing Donald Trump’s hawkish Fed pick and mounting ETF outflows as evidence investors are abandoning an over-hyped asset class. Linking the crash to Trump and regulatory angst lets these publications lean into political theatre and moral-hazard warnings that resonate with local audiences sceptical about speculative finance.
Crypto-industry voices quoted in regional business media
Coin Bureau, Hong Kong Web3 Association — Insist the downturn is simply another ‘reset’ phase in bitcoin’s multi-year cycle, arguing capitulation now will pave the way for future gains once weak hands are flushed out. Casting deep losses as healthy cleansing could reflect self-interest: industry insiders have incentives to calm holders and protect valuations while discouraging regulators from harsher crackdowns.