Bitcoin drops under $66,000 as cryptocurrencies track losses in U.S. equities.

Crypto-linked equities extended their slide on Thursday as a deepening downturn in digital assets continued to pressure trading activity and investor sentiment.

Bitcoin fell toward the bottom of its recent range in late-morning U.S. trading, changing hands near $65,700 — down roughly 1.5% over the past 24 hours — as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6%. Ethereum hovered just above $1,900, off more than 2% on the day.

The pattern has become familiar: bitcoin shows little correlation when equities rally, but quickly falls in step when stocks turn lower. The lack of a sustained rebound following last week’s sharp sell-off has left bullish investors increasingly sidelined, with signs of capitulation building across the market.

Sentiment metrics underscore the gloom. Alternative’s closely watched Crypto Fear & Greed Index slid to 5 — firmly in “extreme fear” territory — below levels seen during the 2022 crypto winter and even the 2020 pandemic-driven crash.

Adding to the cautious tone, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick cut his 2026 price targets for bitcoin, ether, solana, BNB and AVAX, while cautioning that bitcoin could fall as low as $50,000 under current conditions.

Crypto-related stocks were among the session’s biggest laggards. Shares of Coinbase and Robinhood each dropped more than 8%. Coinbase is set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the close, while Robinhood’s results earlier this week showed that weaker crypto markets significantly dented trading revenue in the final quarter of 2025 — even before the sharper downturn that has marked the start of 2026.

Elsewhere, Strategy fell 4.2%, Circle declined 4.3%, and Hut 8 shed 6.6%, reflecting broad-based pressure across crypto-linked equities.