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Bitcoin is heading toward the first two consecutive losing calendar years in its roughly 18-year history, having lost 6.34% in 2025 and another 15.65% in 2026 through November 10, when it traded around $73,850, according to Decrypt.
The data was also highlighted by longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff, who warned that a continued slide could carry losses into 2027, ZyCrypto reported. The numbers in his post are consistent with Decrypt’s figures, though the two outlets differ slightly on how much Bitcoin is down this year.
Also read: Binance BTC outflows hit 23,137 in a week, most since 2023
Key facts
- Bitcoin finished 2025 down 6.34% and was down 15.65% in 2026 as of November 10, when it traded near $73,850, per Decrypt.
- To end 2026 in the green, Bitcoin would need to rise about 18.5% to clear its 2026 opening price of roughly $87,500 before December 31, Decrypt reported, with 50 days left.
- The combined two-year decline is roughly 21% after compounding, compared with single-year plunges of 73.56% in 2018 and 64.27% in 2022, according to Decrypt.
- ZyCrypto reported Bitcoin is down 16.5% on the year, starting 2026 near $86,000 and closing 2025 near $87,500 after a record high of $127.5k in October 2025.
- Bitcoin fell as low as $58,000 in 2026 after peaking near $126,000 in October 2025, a drawdown of more than 50%, Decrypt reported.
A milder slide than earlier crypto winters
Both reports stress that the losing streak is unusual in length but not in severity. Decrypt notes that Bitcoin’s earlier down years were followed every time by a rebound, including gains of roughly 92% in 2019 after the 2018 collapse and more than 155% in 2023 after 2022. ZyCrypto lists the same pattern, citing 2014’s roughly 56% to 58% loss before 2015 recovered, alongside the 2018 and 2022 declines.
Measured from its October 2025 high rather than from January 1, the damage looks larger. Decrypt reported a fall from about $126,000 to below $58,000 during 2026, while ZyCrypto put the record high at $127.5k. Calendar-year returns flatter the asset because the 2025 peak occurred late in the year.
Decrypt attributes the shallower annual drawdowns to a more institutional investor base, spot exchange-traded funds and deeper market liquidity, while noting these changes have not prevented sharp selloffs. ZyCrypto frames 2025 as close to flat, a 6.5% net decline in its accounting, and suggests that would make 2026 the year of the real pullback.
Schiff says the trend could spill into 2027
Schiff, who has argued that Bitcoin and other digital assets carry no intrinsic value and are not a store of value like gold, said the break from the historical pattern could mean further declines next year, per ZyCrypto. The outlet also noted that he has drawn criticism for commenting on Bitcoin mainly during downturns, and that critics posted past comments in which he said the asset was not worth buying. ZyCrypto acknowledged that the statistics he cited were accurate.
The gap between the outlets is small on the annual figure: Decrypt reports a 15.65% loss for 2026, while ZyCrypto cites 16.5%.
Why it matters
A second straight losing year would end a pattern that Bitcoin holders have relied on for most of the asset’s life, in which every bad year was followed by a strong one. It matters most for investors who bought near the 2025 high and are now facing a drawdown of more than half, even as the calendar-year loss looks modest. The episode also tests whether the arrival of spot ETFs and institutional buyers has genuinely dampened Bitcoin’s boom-and-bust cycle or only softened the headline numbers.
What to watch
December 31 is the deciding date. Bitcoin has until then to climb above its 2026 opening price near $87,500, a move of about 18.5% from its November 10 level. A third consecutive down year in 2027 would extend the streak, though that outcome is not yet established.
This article is not financial advice, and cryptocurrency prices are volatile and difficult to predict.
Reported by Decrypt.
Sources: Decrypt, ZyCrypto