Analysts See Bitcoin Bear Market Lasting Through End-2026, With Bottom at $30,000–$45,000

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has warned that Bitcoin’s recent strength may prove to be a false breakout, leaving the cryptocurrency exposed to a steep correction toward the $40,000 range. His outlook stands out for combining a specific downside target with a long-dated market-cycle forecast, extending the expected bear-market trough into 2026 and the next potential record high into 2027.

Brandt’s latest projection places Bitcoin’s definitive cycle bottom in early October 2026, after a possible near-term retreat to around $40,000. He expects the market to begin a renewed advance after that low and potentially set an all-time high in 2027. The forecast reflects Brandt’s technical and historical cycle analysis and remains a market scenario rather than a guaranteed price path.

Bitcoin price swings are closely tied to investor holding behavior. On-chain analytics platform Glassnode said realized losses among long-term holders who have held Bitcoin for one to two years are often a key indicator for predicting market cycles when the market reverses. A slowdown in selling pressure from this group can help investors assess when the next bear-market bottom may occur.

According to the latest Glassnode data released in July 2026, investors who bought Bitcoin at $107,000 a year earlier are showing early signs that the 2026 bear-market bottom is approaching. Meanwhile, the average cost basis of short-term speculators has reinforced $69,000 as the next key battleground between Bitcoin bulls and bears.

Bitcoin, a key bellwether for the cryptocurrency market, has recently faced the dual pressures of geopolitical risk and macroeconomic policy. The escalating U.S.-Iran military conflict and volatility in U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy have made the digital asset’s price trajectory a direct factor in allocation decisions by institutional and retail investors worldwide. Market analysts are closely watching the timing of a shift from a bear to a bull market because it will shape capital flows across the crypto market in the coming quarters.

According to a Cointelegraph report published on July 13, 2026, the U.S.-Iran conflict briefly pushed Bitcoin back toward $62,000 this week, while the cryptocurrency faced resistance at $64,000. Several traders, however, said Bitcoin’s bear market was expected to bottom in September or October, with a new bull run potentially beginning in September.

After a prolonged period of sharp volatility in crypto markets, turning points in Bitcoin's bull and bear cycles remain a key focus for investors and financial institutions worldwide. Accurately gauging when a bear market is nearing its end is critical to capital flows across digital assets and directly affects when investors reposition and how much risk they are willing to take. Analysts' assessments of the market cycle therefore serve as important benchmarks in finance and technology.

Jamie Coutts, chief crypto analyst at financial research firm Real Vision, said in a recent report that Bitcoin's downward momentum has begun to ease, suggesting the market may be entering the latter half of the bear cycle. Although current technical indicators and trends remain bearish, he explicitly forecast that Bitcoin could recover and reach $250,000 within the next two to three years as downward pressure subsides.

Bitcoin came under pressure in early 2026 from liquidations of highly leveraged positions, net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and selling by miners, with losses deepening in February. Crypto assets and riskier investments such as U.S. stocks have declined in tandem, pushing market sentiment into extreme fear. Analysts also view BTC as having entered a technical bear market.

Bitcoin fell below $63,000 in February 2026 and briefly traded near $62,500, marking its lowest level of the year, while a weekly rebound quickly faded. Spot cumulative volume delta showed intensifying selling pressure. Market analysts identified $60,000 as key support; a break below that level could send the cryptocurrency into the $56,000–$60,000 range in the short term.

The “realized price” represents the average on-chain acquisition cost of all bitcoin in circulation, and Glassnode uses it to gauge whether holders overall are sitting on losses. Bitcoin briefly fell below this level before bottoming in 2011, 2015, 2018–2019, March 2020 and the 2022 bear market. The measure is therefore viewed as an important gauge of market capitulation and cyclical lows.

CoinDesk reported on June 23, 2026, that bitcoin was testing its 200-week moving average at about $62,400. If that level fails, the next threshold would be Glassnode’s estimated realized price of $53,457, more than 15% below the level at the time. Whales holding 10,000 to 100,000 BTC have an estimated cost basis of about $54,300, and the market could find a bottom in the $50,000–$54,000 range.

Bitcoin is closing in on the $60,000 level in a bear market, with large bids and asks on exchange order books potentially becoming targets for a liquidity sweep. CoinGlass data shows that $50,000–$60,000 is the main liquidity cluster. A drop below support followed by a swift rebound could establish the macro bottom for this bear market and catch short sellers off guard.

Cointelegraph cited pseudonymous trader Killa on June 19, 2026, as saying Bitcoin could sweep liquidity below $60,000 in the third quarter, no later than September, without necessarily reaching the $50,000 level widely targeted by the market. Daan Crypto Trades said bulls must defend $61,000–$62,000, while Exitpump observed on June 18 that short-term bearish positioning on Binance was becoming more aggressive.

Bitcoin’s “realized losses” are the cumulative losses incurred when holders sell below their purchase price. The metric is commonly used to gauge bear-market pressure and the extent of investor capitulation. CryptoQuant said cumulative realized losses reached $211 billion during the 2022 bear market, providing a key benchmark for assessing whether the current cycle has bottomed.

As of 2026, cumulative realized losses in the Bitcoin bear market remain about $35 billion below the 2022 total, implying losses of roughly $176 billion. Analysts say the market has yet to show typical bottoming signals and may need several more months to absorb selling pressure. Another wave of capitulation selling could occur before a clearer cyclical low takes shape.

Bitcoin’s market bottom is often estimated using declines, cycle duration and cost ranges from previous bull and bear markets, making $57,000 a potential support benchmark. Historical averages can help investors assess downside risk, but they do not guarantee prices and remain subject to capital flows, macroeconomic conditions and market sentiment.

A recent report cited an analyst as saying historical averages suggest Bitcoin could bottom near $57,000 in the current cycle. The available information does not identify the analyst or their firm, specify the period covered by the model or give the report’s publication date. The level can therefore only be treated as a cycle benchmark for now, rather than a confirmed market bottom.

Bitcoin prices often move through bull and bear cycles shaped by halving cycles and market liquidity. On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant uses indicators including the MVRV Z-score to measure how far market value has diverged from realized value, helping it assess pressure from investor losses and identify long-term bottom zones.

CryptoQuant's latest analysis estimates that Bitcoin could face another shakeout in the second half of 2026 and hit an “iron bottom” of about $55,000 around December. It describes the current market as the middle of a grueling marathon and says another round of position-clearing is needed before a subsequent rebound can begin.