‘Visible flaws’ in Bitcoiners’ mid-bear market forecast: Analyst

Bitcoin may have already bottomed in early February at around $60,000 and is unlikely to see a lower low later this year, according to a crypto analyst, despite broader expectations of another downturn.

“The dozens of bottom signals only flashed in synchrony at the bottoms. They were not flashing in the middle. Yet they all flashed in Q1 2026 at 60k,” Matthew Hyland said in an X post on Friday.

“To compare the current price action to mid bear market price action has major visible flaws because you did not have bottom signals flashing in the middle; they flashed at the bottoms,” Hyland said, pointing to chart movements in prior cycles to emphasize his point.

Source: Matthew Hyland

Analysts are divided over whether $60,000 was the bottom

Bitcoin (BTC) analysts have recently been divided over whether the asset's price already bottomed in February around $60,000 or still has further downside left in this cycle.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt said in March that it may not be the lowest level for 2026, forecasting that Bitcoin could retest or even move “slightly lower” than the price level in September or October of this year. 

Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo said in an X post on March 17 that, from a liquidity perspective, Bitcoin is about one-third of the way “through the bear market.”

More recently, in an X post on Friday, MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe pointed to a forming pattern on Bitcoin’s short-to-long-term realized value ratio chart to argue that Bitcoin is nearing the end of the bear phase.

“The levels are hit again, which shows that we're at the end of the bear market, and not at the start,” van de Poppe said.

Source: Michael van de Poppe

Bitcoin recently reached its highest price in three months

It comes after Bitcoin reached $82,499 on Wednesday, its highest price since Jan. 31. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $79,646, approximately 32.74% higher than the $60,000 level it reached in February, according to CoinMarketCap.

Related: Bitcoin bulls target $115K by December: Does data back the expectation?

Bitcoin analyst Kyle Chasse pointed out the price increase in an X post on Thursday, saying he expects further upside in the near term.

“$82,000 this week. Up 5% in five days. Crypto legislation is moving through Congress. Iran peace talks reducing risk-off pressure,” Chasse said.

“The technicals are clean. Bull-stacked moving averages. Shorts getting squeezed,” Chasse said, adding that the “next wall” is $85,000.

“Above that, the path to $100k opens back up,” Chasse said.

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