Miami, FL – Bitcoin experienced a significant slide on Thursday and Friday, plunging more than 7% to below $79,000. Traders are preparing for the possibility of a further decline to $70,000, as the cryptocurrency entered a bear market this week, dropping over 20% from its peak in January.

The selloff of Bitcoin continued on Thursday night and Friday, with the value dropping more than 7% within hours, falling from above $84,000 to under $79,000 after entering a technical bear market this week. Despite a slight recovery, the cryptocurrency was trading just above $80,000 at 7:40 a.m. ET. Other cryptocurrencies like Ether and XRP also experienced similar declines.

Traders are closely monitoring the situation as Bitcoin options indicate an increased interest in put options with a strike price of $70,000, the second-highest level for contracts set to expire on Friday. Analysts are speculating that if Bitcoin were to reach that level, it would signify a 35% decrease from its all-time high above $109,000 in January.

Katie Stockton, a prominent analyst and the founder of Fairlead Strategists, mentioned that Bitcoin has shown signs of a short-term breakdown within its long-term uptrend, hinting at a possible test of secondary support near $73.8K. George Pavel, the general manager of trading platform NAGA, expressed his belief that Bitcoin could drop as low as $70,000 following the breach of the key $90,000 resistance level.

With Bitcoin slipping into bear market territory this week, experiencing a 25% drop from its record high in January, the total market cap of Bitcoin fell about 7% to $1.58 trillion on Friday, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The sell-off was triggered by a broader risk-off move in markets, coupled with factors shaking confidence among crypto investors.

Furthermore, heightened volatility and weaker sentiment in cryptocurrencies were observed after hackers stole $1.5 billion from the crypto exchange ByBit, considered one of the largest crypto hacks. Pavel suggested that macroeconomic uncertainty and delays in implementing pro-crypto policies by the Trump administration could be contributing to the selling pressure. Unless there is a significant market shift or a catalyst to restore investor confidence, the downward trend in Bitcoin’s value could persist for some time.