{"id":94548,"date":"2026-02-22T18:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T15:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=94548"},"modified":"2026-02-22T18:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T15:52:59","slug":"week-in-review-record-losses-for-crypto-investors-and-a-jump-in-mining-difficulty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/week-in-review-record-losses-for-crypto-investors-and-a-jump-in-mining-difficulty\/","title":{"rendered":"Week in review: record losses for crypto investors and a jump in mining difficulty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crypto markets stalled as investors locked in losses; bitcoin mining difficulty jumped 14%; the Ethereum Foundation unveiled an updated roadmap\u2014and other highlights of the week.<\/p>\n

Markets in the red<\/h2>\n

Digital assets remain range-bound, with momentum tilted negative. Over the past week bitcoin lost about 4%, and 25% over the past 30 days.<\/p>\n

On Monday the bellwether traded around $70,000, slid to a local low near $65,000 by Thursday, and recovered to $67,000 by Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Hourly chart of BTC\/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ethereum followed bitcoin, failing to hold the psychological $2,000 level. The coin fell 5.5% over seven days.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Hourly chart of BTC\/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Analysts at Glassnode noted<\/a> that a drop in the price of the bellwether to $60,000 put psychological pressure on long-term holders comparable to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem<\/a> in May 2022.<\/p>\n

According to their data, the seven-day exponential moving average of SOPR<\/a> for this cohort fell below 1. That implies they began selling at sizeable losses\u2014a rare shift in behaviour typically seen in deeper bear-market phases.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Source: Glassnode\/X.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inflows to trading platforms have also weakened.<\/p>\n

The crypto correction has pushed many professional investors into more liquid assets or higher cash balances, Bloomberg said<\/a>. This is echoed by outflows from US spot bitcoin ETF<\/a>s, now in their fifth consecutive week.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Source: SoSoValue<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Technical analysts spotted a \u201cbear pennant\u201d shaping up on bitcoin<\/a> and Ethereum<\/a>, pointing to targets of $55,000 and $1,100, respectively.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Daily chart of BTC\/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The \u201cpennant\u201d forms when, after a sharp drop (the \u201cflagpole\u201d), prices compress into a narrowing range. A break below typically triggers another leg lower on a scale comparable to the initial move.<\/p>\n

Other top\u201110 cryptoassets were also in the red. TRX was the exception, up 3%.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Source: CoinGecko<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index<\/a> remains near lows at 9.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Crypto Fear and Greed Index. Source: Alternative<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Total crypto market capitalisation fell from $2.45trn to $2.45trn.<\/p>\n

Bitcoin dominance stands at 56.6%, Ethereum at 9.8%.<\/p>\n

Mining difficulty<\/h2>\n

On 19 February, bitcoin mining difficulty<\/a> rose by 14.73% to 144.4 T\u2014among the biggest changes since 2021.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Source: CloverPool<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the previous adjustment the metric adjusted<\/a> by 11%. Severe weather had prompted many large miners to pause operations, distorting the network hashrate.<\/p>\n

The metric now holds above 1 ZH\/s.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Source: Glassnode. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But while hashrate rebounded after a brief dip, hashprice keeps falling. Over the week it declined from $34 to $28 per PH\/s per day.<\/p>\n

\"image\"
Source: Hashrate Index<\/a>. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite falling profitability<\/a>, operators with access to cheap power keep scaling up. The UAE\u2019s unrealised profit from bitcoin mining reached<\/a> $350m.<\/p>\n

Some companies are taking the opposite approach. Miner Bitdeer reported<\/a> selling all the bitcoin on its balance sheet. It had been selling slowly; last week it put 943.1 BTC on the market.<\/p>\n

Even so, Bitdeer overtook MARA Holdings by its own hashrate, becoming the leader among public miners.<\/p>\n

The company now ranked second by capacity this week closed<\/a> a deal to buy a 64% stake in AI\u2011infrastructure provider Exaion\u2014evidence of big miners\u2019 push to diversify.<\/p>\n

What to discuss with friends?<\/h2>\n