Bitcoin is trading between $66,000 and $67,000 as of March 2, 2026, stabilizing after weeks of sharp swings and sustained downside pressure. The leading cryptocurrency has been unable to regain its footing after a tough start to the year, with price movements indicating weakness in the digital asset market as a whole.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $66,938, down 0.84% over the last 24 hours. Daily trading volume is at $63.43 billion, with market capitalization remaining at $1.34 trillion. Market dominance for Bitcoin is 58.33%.
Historical Corrections Followed Previous Bull Peaks
According to data provided by CryptosRus, Bitcoin has registered a return of 23.21% in Q1 2026, making it one of the worst quarterly openings in over a decade. This is the third-worst Q1 performance since 2013 and is in stark contrast to the average first-quarter gain of 45.90%. The difference is a 69-percentage-point anomaly from the norm.
Historically, only Q1 2018, which registered a return of 49.7%, and Q1 2014, which registered a return of 37.42%, have seen worse first-quarter performances. These corrections have all followed significant bull market peaks and have been part of larger correction cycles that eventually paved the way for new growth cycles.
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Bitcoin Q1 2026 Shows Significant Quarterly Loss
The current quarterly loss is also considerably less than Bitcoin’s median Q1 return of 2.26%, indicating that while first quarters tend to have mixed performances, the magnitude of the current loss in 2026 is significant.
Since 2013, Bitcoin’s first quarter has experienced highly divergent performances, with strong gains registered in 2013 (539.96%), 2021 (103.17%), 2023 (71.77%), and 2024 (68.68%). However, these strong years were balanced by negative performances in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025, and now 2026.
The historically high average of 45.90% is primarily driven by strong outlier years such as 2013 and 2021. However, the median value of 2.26% provides a more accurate representation of the trend, suggesting that slight first-quarter losses have been more prevalent than strong first-quarter gains.
Other quarters have experienced different levels of performance. Q4 has historically provided the strongest performances, with a 77.07% average return and a 47.73% median return. Q2 has averaged 27.11%, while Q3 has remained relatively flat with a 6.05% average return.
The current loss in Bitcoin comes after its all-time high of $126,080 in October 2025 and the October 10 liquidation day that destroyed some $19 billion in market value. Since the peak, Bitcoin has declined by 48%, sliding back into the mid-$66,000 region.
The current two consecutive quarterly losses in Q4 2025 (23.07%) and Q1 2026 (23.21%) are the first consecutive quarterly losses since 2022, when Bitcoin registered negative returns for all four quarters. The current performance indicates rising volatility and that the market is still in a corrective cycle as it enters 2026.
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