V-shaped rebound or technical correction? An in-depth analysis of Bitcoin hitting a bottom at 60,000 in a single day and the bullish pullback to 71,000 behind the bulls and bears' battle.

A daily candle as long as $11,000 not only pierced the positions of over 90,000 traders but also carved a deep crack on the market sentiment chart.

Bitcoin experienced a thrilling intraday reversal on February 8, 2026. The price rebounded strongly from around $60,000 near the February lows, reaching as high as $71,000, with an intraday volatility of nearly 20%. Behind this intense fluctuation are multiple intertwined factors, including fragile market structure, wavering macro expectations, and high leverage liquidations. According to Gate market data, as of February 9, Bitcoin’s price was $70,895.6, with a 24-hour trading volume of $822.05M.

Market Shock Recap

In early February 2026, the cryptocurrency market was shrouded in persistent gloom. Bitcoin’s price hovered between $75,000 and $80,000 at the end of January, but after entering February, it began a continuous decline.

February 5 became a critical turning point, as Bitcoin broke below the important psychological level of $70,000. Early the next day, the decline intensified, with the price dropping to a low of $60,062. This price fell more than 48% from the October 2025 all-time high of $126,000, also marking a new 16-month low.

The real dramatic turn happened on February 8. During the Asian trading session in the morning, Bitcoin’s price launched a rapid rebound from the lows. Buying pressure kept pouring in, pushing the price back up, reaching around $71,000, completing a classic V-shaped reversal. This intense volatility directly caused massive liquidations. Market data shows that between February 5 and 6 alone, liquidations of long positions related to Bitcoin reached $1.096 billion, while short liquidations were about $248 million. The number of traders involved in liquidations was huge, and the market completed a brutal reshuffle amid the sharp fluctuations.

Key Timeline and Market Response

To better understand this volatility, the following timeline outlines key price change points of Bitcoin around February 8 and the corresponding market activities:

Unusual volatility was not only reflected in price movements. BlockBeats analysis pointed out that in the early hours of February 8, Bitcoin and Ethereum’s one-minute spot charts showed abnormal price swings. From 00:05 to 00:17, there were instances of single-minute fluctuations exceeding 1%, even reaching 3%. Evgeny Gaevoy, founder of crypto market maker Wintermute, analyzed that this abnormal volatility was likely caused by a liquidation event involving a market-making bot, which may have resulted in losses of tens of millions of dollars. He emphasized that this abnormal fluctuation was due to bot losses, not malicious market maker behavior.

Technical and Fundamental Deep Dive

Behind this intense volatility are the simultaneous breach of key technical support levels and collective liquidations of high-leverage positions.

From a technical analysis perspective, $70,000 is not only an important psychological level but also the location of multiple moving averages and previous trading clusters. Once broken, it triggers a large number of algorithmic stop-loss orders. Gate analysts pointed out that the market is closely watching Bitcoin’s 200-week moving average, which historically has served as a strong support during major corrections and bear markets in 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2022.

Fundamentally, the factors are more complex. Market analyst Yu Jianning noted that Bitcoin’s decline results from the combined effects of macro constraints and capital structure. On the macro side, policy expectation changes triggered by Trump’s nomination of Kevin Woor as the next Federal Reserve Chair were interpreted by the market as making rate cuts more difficult and the dollar more likely to strengthen, thereby reducing risk budgets for high-volatility assets. On the capital side, funds flowing into spot Bitcoin ETFs showed a clear cooling at the start of the year, triggering widespread deleveraging and asset rebalancing. When prices broke key levels, the market lacked sufficient counterparty support to absorb passive selling pressure, leading to faster breakdowns.

Bottom or Bear Market Continuation?

Regarding the strong rebound from the $60,000 region, market analysts’ views diverge sharply, creating a fierce battle between bulls and bears.

Some analysts believe this could signal a market bottom. Crypto trader Jackis pointed out that the current trend is part of a macroeconomic adjustment in 2025. He emphasized that even if the price drops to $70,000, it won’t resemble previous bear markets. Unlike in 2022 or early 2024, the current correction lacks systemic macro-driven safe-haven pressure and more reflects early holders rotating supply to institutional participants.

Cautious analysts look for support from historical cycles. Michael Boutros, senior technical strategist at StoneX, noted that Bitcoin’s weekly momentum indicators are entering oversold territory. However, historical data shows these signals often appear early in the market rather than at the final bottom. Previous major down cycles of Bitcoin typically lasted about a year.

Future Outlook and Key Indicators

Given such intense market volatility and divergent analysis opinions, which key indicators should investors watch to grasp the market’s future direction?

Market forecasts for future prices are polarized. Prediction platform Polymarket shows that as of January 2026, the market assigns an 80% probability that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 in 2026, and a 64% chance it will hit $110,000. But at the same time, the probability of dropping to $75,000 is as high as 78%.

According to long-term forecast data from Gate, the average price of Bitcoin in 2026 is projected to be $70,791.3, with a range between a low of $57,340.95 and a high of $91,320.77. By 2031, Bitcoin’s price could fluctuate up to $149,511.29.

Several analysts highlight key indicators for observing market turning points. To determine if the market has truly bottomed, one should not only look at the price but also focus on two market sentiment indicators: the flow of funds into spot ETFs and the Coinbase premium index. HashKey Group senior researcher emphasized that Bitcoin’s future trend depends on two core variables: first, whether the global deleveraging process completes smoothly; second, whether ETF and arbitrage capital begin to show sustained rather than phased inflows.

From a longer cycle perspective, Jurrien Timmer, head of macro at Fidelity, pointed out that Bitcoin has entered a longer wave structure extending from 2022 to 2025. During these 145 weeks, Bitcoin achieved a 105% annual compound growth rate, closely aligning with long-term regression models.

The fierce battle between bulls and bears has yet to subside. As of February 9, Bitcoin’s trading price on Gate remained steady at $70,895.6, with a market cap of $1.41T, accounting for 56.14% of the entire cryptocurrency market. Market predictions resemble a forked path: Polymarket shows a 64% probability of Bitcoin rising back to $75,000 in February, while long-term data suggests it could reach a high of $149,511.29 by 2031. Changes in perpetual contract funding rates and spot ETF fund flows act as the market’s pulse—each abnormal jump may signal the next major wave.