Bitcoin falls to $77,000 as momentum weakens

The market backdrop reinforces the point. Bitcoin has been sliding toward the $77,000 area after briefly trading above $81,000, leaving it below its 50-day moving average and well under recent highs. The Relative Strength Index has sunk into the low 30s, a level that usually reflects weak momentum, while the MACD remains negative. In other words, this is not a market that is rewarding easy enthusiasm. Adalytica’s Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index is at “Extreme Fear,” even as awareness remains high, suggesting the asset is still widely watched but poorly loved in the near term.

That tension is exactly why Bitcoin remains such a fascinating long-term asset. The investment case is no longer just about catching a speculative wave; it is about whether Bitcoin can keep earning a place in portfolios as a scarce digital asset while maturing into something institutions can actually hold through full market cycles. ETFs are still attracting money, with recent inflows showing demand has not disappeared, but flows alone have not been enough to prevent price pressure. That is a reminder that adoption and valuation are not the same thing.

For investors, Palihapitiya’s comments should not be read as a death sentence. If anything, they are a useful reality check. Bitcoin has survived louder skeptics than this, and its network effect, liquidity and brand recognition remain powerful advantages. But the next phase may look less like a straight line higher and more like a volatile, cyclical asset that rewards patience, position sizing and a multi-year horizon. If you own Bitcoin, or Bitcoin-linked names such as Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, the key question is not whether the story is over. It is whether the market has already priced in a more mature, less explosive future. Worth watching, and worth keeping in a diversified portfolio — but not something to chase blindly.