During the early hours of trading on February 23, 2026, in Asia, Bitcoin (BTC) began to trend downwards, falling below USD 65,000 based on the latest market uncertainties surrounding the U.S. Trade Policy. A recent announcement from President Trump of an increase in global tariffs has put downward pressure on the price of bitcoin, triggering a -4.8% decline, and analysts are now looking at USD 60,000 being the next support level for BTC before further upward movement occurs.
Santiment Reads Market Health in Fading Hype
According to Santiment’s readings, the market health is beginning to improve based on the decline of social media posts driven by Fear of missing out (FOMO). “Postings calling for Bitcoin at USD 150,000 – USD200,000 and even USD 50,000 – USD 100,000 have all but dried up,” Santiment stated, noting that the decrease in bullish social media has been a “reset” rather than a reversal.
There has been a shift in social comments from “extremely negative” to “neutral” using bullish and bearish sentiment. Although Santiment feels this may complicate short term decision-making, there is a continued decline in transaction volume, active addresses, and network growth. According to this data, a real market growth can happen if renewed user participation occurs.
At the same time, over USD 434 million worth of long positions were liquidated in the last 24 hours, showing the current wild volatility in the markets.
Next Steps
Right now, Bitcoin is fragile and depends on the USD 60,000 support level (touched on last week but quickly jumped off to hover at USD 70,000). To set a new direction for the market, bulls need to reclaim USD 70,000, something that seems obvious, but it will depend on some events happening in the next few days.
Key Events This Week
- Just at the end of last week, markets reacted to Trump’s 10% to 15% global tariff increase; today’s follow-up will determine whether this is going to happen or is just one more of Trump’s never-ending threats.
- February Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index data will be released on Tuesday 24, at 10 AM EST.
- On Wednesday, 25, the big tech company Nvidia ($NVDA) will release its earnings report.
- Weekly Initial Jobless Claims data will come on Thursday, 26. Last week’s report showed 5000 fewer claims compared to the same week in 2025.
- The January Producer Price Indexes (PPI) Inflation data will be disclosed on Friday, 27. This information will provide a more detailed outlook for the annual, monthly, and core inflation trends for the rest of 2026.
- Also, on Friday, 27, there are a total of 11 FED speaker events that will deliver important outcomes and announcements on the U.S. economy.
