In the first half of 2026, the cryptocurrency market underwent a baptism that can only be described as a "bloodbath."
Bitcoin, which started the year at around 100,000 USD, plummeted to about 63,000 USD, with a decline nearing 40%. Just today (June 25), Bitcoin fell below the 60,000 USD mark again, hitting a low of 59,023 USD, the lowest level since October 2024. This is the third time this year that Bitcoin has breached the critical psychological level of 60,000 USD.
What exactly happened in these six months? Let's review this period that has left countless people in the cryptocurrency world sleepless in the simplest of terms.
January: The year starts with a "king bomb"
Before the New Year bell had faded, the market was dealt a heavy blow. Strategy, the listed company holding the most Bitcoin globally (formerly known as MicroStrategy), was reported to be facing cash flow issues, with cash reserves reduced by 38%—even "whales" in the cryptocurrency world are running out of money, causing panic in the market and a surge in BTC selling pressure. Meanwhile, the U.S. CFTC issued a permanent trading ban on the founder of Celsius, marking the first "business prohibition" penalty by U.S. regulators against a crypto lending platform, sending a very strong signal—2026 will see serious regulatory actions.
February: The "month of hacker frenzy"
If one had to name the "darkest month" of the first half, February undoubtedly deserves that title. The Taiko chain was hacked, forcing all Proposers to pause block production—shattering the "security myth" of Layer2; Ethereum's top MEV bot was reverse-harvested, resulting in a loss of 7.5 million USD overnight; Axelar cross-chain bridge lost 4.67 million, Secret Network lost 4.7 million, and the mySwap liquidity in the Starknet ecosystem was completely drained... A series of attacks in a single month left the entire DeFi ecosystem reeling. In Q2, cryptocurrency hacking attacks hit 83, with total losses reaching 755 million USD, setting a historical record.
March: Institutions' "great escape"
In March, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net outflow of 6.4 billion USD in a single month, a historical record. BTC dropped from 82,000 USD to 62,000 USD, with institutional funds seeing a net outflow of as much as 8 billion USD in just 30 days. Even more alarming, gold and silver also crashed simultaneously—safe-haven assets and risk assets both fell, indicating that there truly was no money left in the market.
April: Traditional finance's "reverse bottom-fishing"
While retail investors were lamenting, traditional financial giants quietly entered the market. Chainlink, along with 47 banks from Europe and South Korea, launched a project for stablecoin cross-border settlement; ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) formed a joint venture with OKX; Visa's stablecoin settlement pilot had an annual scale of 7 billion USD. The deep integration of traditional finance and crypto infrastructure officially commenced.
May: Regulation "sets the rules"
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate successively passed bills containing a CBDC ban, explicitly prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar before 2030. The GENIUS Act stablecoin regulatory framework was officially implemented. Regulatory attitudes shifted from "suppressing" to "normalizing"—this is a positive development for the industry's long-term health.
June: Compliance accelerates, AI and Crypto "get married"
The SEC plans to allow stock tokenization trading; the market size of RWA tokenization exceeded 43 billion USD; Coinbase announced support for pre-IPO perpetual contracts, tokenized stocks, and AI agent wallets. The narrative of AI and Crypto officially entered the product landing phase.
Looking Ahead to the Second Half: Three Key Lines to Watch
First, the endgame of regulation. In June, U.S. cryptocurrency legislation enters its final window— the implementation rules for the GENIUS Act are progressing, and the CLARITY Act (Digital Asset Market Structure Act) is rushing towards a Senate vote. Whether the U.S. can pass the first regulatory law covering all types of cryptocurrencies is an answer that is just around the corner.
Second, where is the market bottom? Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest level since October 2024, with a drop of about 50% from its historical high. Will it continue to seek the bottom or stage a rally? This may be the biggest suspense for the second half of the year.
Third, AI×Crypto productization. From Coinbase's AI agent wallet to various automated trading tools, the integration of AI and crypto is moving from concept to practicality.
Big Benefits: The First "Zero Cost" Opportunity of the Second Half is Here!
The more sluggish the market, the better the opportunity for positioning. Right now, there is almost a zero-threshold benefit opportunity right in front of you—
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