Fed pressure and lackluster demand drive Bitcoin selloff

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is trading near $68,000, down 22% since the calendar flipped to January. This pullback is primarily due to institutional selling pressure, triggered by macroeconomic fog and growing doubts over the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy path.

A vivid snapshot of shifting sentiment comes from the Harvard Management Company. The bellwether among large-scale traders slashed its BTC ETF exposure by 21% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, while quietly building a stake in Ethereum exchange-traded funds. Such a move speaks volumes. It signals a belief that the token may have run ahead of itself in the short term, and the so-called "whales" are starting to drift toward alternative digital assets.

WisdomTree's research team points out an ironic twist: rather than dampening volatility, the much-celebrated institutionalization of crypto markets is now fueling the downside. Having feasted on the 2024–2025 rally, large players are now taking chips off the table and locking in profits. Forecast models reflect this cautious tilt, suggesting a higher probability of a pullback to $55,000 than a surge toward $84,000.

The technical picture reinforces this watchful mood. Bitcoin has entered a consolidation phase, with the Stochastic Oscillator (%K=68, %D=64) hovering in the neutral-to-bullish range. Nevertheless, the indicator is still flashing signs of waning momentum, thus flirting with overbought levels. Such positioning caps upside potential and raises the odds of a bearish turn. Even more telling is the Chaikin Oscillator, which has traced a steady decline in buying interest since February 14. This divergence reveals latent bearish pressure simmering beneath an otherwise stable price surface.

In the meantime, macro headwinds are not letting up. Wednesday brings the release of Fed meeting minutes, followed by preliminary US GDP data later in the week—both of which are potential catalysts for fresh market volatility.

The strategy down below may come into play for your trading:

Sell Bitcoin at the current price. Lock in profits at $60,000. Place Stop loss at $72,000.

This forecast is valid from February 17 till February 25, 2026.