Bitcoin Bears Celebrate as Bulls Hunt for Bottom Signs

When Bitcoin dropped below $76,000 this week, something remarkable happened: the bears who had been wrong for over a decade finally got to say "I told you so." And boy, are they making the most of it.

The Financial Times, long crypto's most persistent institutional critic, rolled out the victory lap with characteristic British understatement. "Bitcoin is still about $69,000 too high," declared Jemima Kelly in a weekend essay that perfectly encapsulated her publication's unwavering skepticism since the digital asset's early days.

The No-Coiners' Moment of Glory

For publications and pundits who have maintained steadfast opposition to crypto through its rise from pennies to over $100,000, this crash feels like vindication. The FT's Katie Martin famously wondered in 2025 why her teeth weren't worth billions since they're scarcer than Bitcoin. Now, with the cryptocurrency tumbling from its November 2024 peak, such quips seem less absurd and more prescient.

Kelly's assessment was brutal but consistent: "Ever since its creation, bitcoin has been on a journey that will end, splattered on the ground. This week has shown us that the supply of 'greater fools' that bitcoin relies on is drying up."

The criticism extended beyond philosophical objections to concrete financial performance. When MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings fell below the company's $76,000 average cost basis, the FT's Craig Coben described the corporate treasury strategy as "a gigantic mastodon stuck in La Brea tar pits."

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Peter Schiff, the gold advocate who has been Bitcoin's most vocal critic since its inception, couldn't resist joining the celebration. "According to Michael Saylor, bitcoin is the best-performing asset in the world," he wrote. "Yet MicroStrategy invested over $54 billion in bitcoin over the past five years, and as of now the company is down about 3% on that investment."

Schiff's gold-denominated analysis painted an even grimmer picture: "Bitcoin below $76,000, it's now worth 15 ounces of gold, down 59% from its November 2021 high. Bitcoin is in a long-term bear market priced in gold."

Bulls Grasping for Straws

While bears celebrate, crypto bulls are frantically searching for technical signals that might indicate a final bottom. The desperation is palpable as they analyze everything from leverage liquidations to institutional sentiment shifts.

Interestingly, one potential bottom signal might be the very headlines celebrating crypto's demise. Market veterans know that maximum bearish sentiment often coincides with major lows. When publications that have been consistently wrong about Bitcoin's price direction for over a decade start declaring victory, contrarian investors take notice.

Even Tether, the stablecoin giant that was reportedly seeking a $500 billion valuation just months ago, is finding investors pushing back. The company's fundraising efforts have reportedly scaled back from $15-20 billion to about $5 billion, suggesting even crypto infrastructure companies are feeling the chill.

The Timing Question

The irony isn't lost on market observers that these bearish victory laps come after Bitcoin has already fallen significantly from its peaks. The FT and other publications maintained their skeptical stance when Bitcoin was at $1,000, $10,000, and $50,000. Their consistency is admirable, but their timing raises questions about the predictive value of their analysis.

As former hedge fund manager Hugh Hendry once noted, "I refuse to pick bottoms. Monkeys spend all their time picking bottoms." Yet the confluence of bearish headlines, capitulation among long-term holders, and reduced institutional appetite might suggest that some sort of bottoming process is underway.