Bitcoin is facing renewed bearish pressure after sliding below both its 2021 record level and a key long-term trend indicator, prompting economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff to declare that the largest cryptocurrency is in a long-term bear market.
On November 13, 2026, BTC traded near $68,000, below its November 10, 2021 high of almost $69,000. Schiff asked investors how they would have reacted five years ago if told that bitcoin would eventually trade below its 2021 peak, and he stated: “Bitcoin is in a long-term bear market. The long-term trend is down.” The assessment did not go unchallenged. Bitcoin podcaster Stephan Livera noted that bitcoin had also traded below its 2017 all-time high in November 2022, arguing that comparing previous market peaks with later lows can be misleading.
The decline was part of a broader crypto selloff. According to CoinGecko data cited by CryptoPotato, bitcoin fell about 7% in 24 hours, while XRP, ETH, and SOL lost roughly 16%, 14%, and 12% respectively. BTC was also down more than 9% over seven days, nearly 11% over two weeks, and over 17% from a month earlier. The market lost around 4% of its value amid fallout from the resignation of Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang.
Technical analysts noted that bitcoin dropped below its 50-week simple moving average, reversing a September breakout that Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn had viewed as a possible start of a new bull phase. At the time of writing, BTC was below $73,400 versus a 50-week SMA of $75,153. Crypto market maker Wintermute said it remains cautious while bitcoin trades under that average, putting the next downside level at $68,000 and saying a reclaim of $80,000 would change its view.
ETF outflows and a stronger dollar added to the bearish backdrop. The Dollar Index briefly topped 103, its highest since March 2025. LMAX Group market strategist Joel Kruger said much of the hawkish tone may already be priced in and that profit-taking on dollar longs could ease pressure on crypto. He said Fed commentary and Friday’s U.S. producer price inflation report are the next tests. Markets see a December Federal Reserve interest-rate increase as largely baked in, while the conflict with Iran remains a swing factor through oil prices.
Strategy, the company led by Michael Saylor, also entered the debate. On Monday, Strategy announced it bought an additional 1,036 BTC for about $82 million and repurchased $188 million of its STRC stock. Schiff criticized the buyback, claiming the company must keep buying STRC because otherwise the price would collapse. Some observers also worried that MSCI’s exclusion of Strategy from its indexes could hamper the company’s ability to raise money for bitcoin purchases.
