Bitcoin set for first back-to-back annual losses, Decrypt reports

Key points

• Bitcoin ended 2025 down 6.34% and had lost 15.65% in 2026, trading near $73,850 on 10 Nov.
• The combined two-year decline of about 21% is far smaller than the 73.56% fall in 2018 and 64.27% in 2022.
• Bitcoin needs to rise roughly 18.5% from $73,850 to regain its 2026 opening price of about $87,500 by 31 Dec.

Bitcoin is on course for its first back-to-back annual losses, Decrypt reports, after falling 6.34% in 2025 and about 16% in 2026. The cryptocurrency traded near $73,850 on 10 November and would need to climb above its 2026 opening price of roughly $87,500 by 31 December to avoid two red calendar years in a row.

The losing streak is mild by Bitcoin's standards. It fell 73.56% in 2018 and 64.27% in 2022, while the combined decline across 2025 and 2026 comes to about 21% after compounding. Bitcoin also gained more than 120% in 2024, so investors who bought at the start of that year remain well ahead.

Milder than past crashes

Measured from its peak rather than calendar boundaries, the picture is harsher. Bitcoin reached about $126,000 in October 2025 before dropping below $58,000 in 2026, a fall of more than 50%. Decrypt says analysts have pointed to a more institutional investor base, spot exchange-traded funds and deeper liquidity as possible reasons for smaller bear-market drawdowns.

History offers some comfort. Bitcoin rose about 92% in 2019 after its 2018 collapse and more than 155% in 2023 following 2022. Decrypt notes that 50 days remain in 2026 for Bitcoin to avoid the first back-to-back annual losses in its 18-year history.

What to watch: Bitcoin has until 31 December to recover above its 2026 opening price of about $87,500 and avoid back-to-back annual losses.

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