Bitcoin (BTC) sellers returned on Friday, pulling BTC price 5.5% below Wednesday’s high of $70,000 to trade at $65,950 at the time of writing. Several analysts said Bitcoin is “going much lower,” potentially reaching a bottom during the last quarter of 2026.
Key takeaways:
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Analysts forecast BTC price to hit a bottom in Q4 based on various technical and onchain metrics.
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Rising exchange reserves and “supply in profit” falling to 2022 lows suggest further downside pressure.
Analysts say Bitcoin price will bottom after June
According to multiple analysts, Bitcoin could extend its downtrend, possibly reaching as low as $30,000 to $45,000 during the last quarter of the year.
Related: Bitcoin’s five-month losing streak may not end in March as $70K caps price
The shortest bear market lasted 365 days, and “Bitcoin is currently about 140 days into its current bear market,” crypto trader Darky said in a Friday post on X, adding:
“We are going much lower, just a matter of time.”
Onchain data provider CryptoQuant said “bottoms take time” to form, and that Bitcoin could reach its cycle lows between “June and December,” based on previous post-halving price structures.
“Historically, the sweet spot clusters around September–November 2026.”
Fellow analyst Batman said that previous bear cycles printed their lows 365 and 396 days after the market top.
Bitcoin’s current all-time high of over $126,000 was reached on Oct. 2, 2025, and “adding 365 to 396 days puts us around October to November 2026,” Batman said, adding:
“So whatever price we get by then, I think it’s fair to say it will be a no-brainer buy.”
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin “supply in profit” metric has dropped to levels last seen at the depths of the 2022 bear market, according to data from CryptoQuant.
In 2022, the bottom phase lasted for about six months.
Overlaying the exact downward price action from that period onto the current chart, it aligns with the -70% to -75% drawdown range projected for the fifth cycle.
This suggests that Bitcoin could drop further from current levels, possibly bottoming between $31,500 and $38,000 six months from now.
On-Chain College shared a chart showing that Bitcoin broke below its Long-Term Holder True Cost Basis at $65,700 and needed to reclaim it as support.
Cost basis levels act as psychological pivots, and when the price trades below them, investors face unrealized losses and the risk of distribution increases.
A sustained position below the band tends to increase investor stress and encourages BTC capitulation.
“History would suggest that Bitcoin is due for a trip down to $42K or lower.”
As Cointelegraph reported, many analysts expect 2026 to be a bear market year, and various forecasts predict the BTC price dropping to as low as $40,000.
Bitcoin supply on exchanges keeps rising
Onchain data from CryptoQuant shows Bitcoin balance on exchanges has grown to 2.752 million BTC from 2.723 million in mid-January. This represents a total increase of about 28,489 BTC (+1.0%) over 45 days.
Increasing BTC supply on exchanges is a classic bearish signal that can outpace demand.
“Until the reserve turns lower and breaks back below 2.723M BTC, structural selling pressure remains intact,” analyst Axel Adler Jr. said in a recent analysis, adding:
“The key trigger for a regime change is a sustained decline in the reserve below the January lows.”
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