The post Stifel Warns Bitcoin Could Drop to $38k: Here Is Why appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) has issued a bold midterm prediction for Bitcoin (BTC) price. With Bitcoin price down 42% from its peak to hit a 14 month low of about $72k earlier today, Stifel stated that the flagship coin is on the cusp of further capitulation, with a target of $38k.

Stifel Warns of a 46% Bitcoin Drop in 2026

With the crypto market having lost more than $1.7 trillion in the past few months, Stifel cautioned that institutional and retail interest has dropped heavily. As such, the behemoth financial institution believes that the extreme fear will push Bitcoin price to $38,000 in coming months.

Stifel based this Bitcoin prediction on the past cycles, where a potential top was hit in October 2025. The bank cited tighter Fed’s policy, slow U.S. crypto regulations, shrinking liquidity, and heavy spot BTC ETFs outflow as the lagging indicator for a major selloff ahead. 

What’s the Bigger Picture

Bitcoin price is well positioned to rally exponentially before the end of 2026 catalyzed by supportive liquidity flow. Moreover, the weakening U.S. dollar amid expected reversal of Gold price is a lagging indicator for a bullish Bitcoin outlook.

Moreover, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, believes that Bitcoin price is very close to its bear market bottom.  According to John Deaton, Bitcoin price has suffered suppression through paper contracts in a similar manner as Silver by the traditional banks.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin is well poised to rebound backed by the notable decline in its supply amid a rising demand. Earlier today, Senator Cynthia Lummis urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to buy Bitcoin using the country’s Gold reserves.

The post Bitcoin Price Hits $72.8k, Bitwise CIO Turns Bearish; Is Sub-$70k Next? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Bitcoin (BTC) price has led the wider crypto market in a further selloff. After slipping below its crucial buy zone around $80k last week, Bitcoin price extended its selloff today to hit $72,889 on Tuesday, February 3, for the first time since the first week of November. 

Bitcoin Price Falls on Leverage Flashouts

As such, more than 167k leveraged traders were flashed out, with more than $730 million liquidated during the past 24 hours. Out of this, more than $528 million involved long traders, amid the notable decline in Bitcoin’s Open Interest (OI). 

According to market data analysis from CoinGlass, Bitcoin’s OI has continued to shrink since the October 11 crypto capitulation to hover about $52.7 billion at press time.

Source: Coinglass

Bitwise CIO Issues Cautionary Note 

Following today’s BTC price capitulation to $72k today, Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO, stated that the flagship coin is under the influence of a multi-month bear market. Hougan stated that the Bitcoin price has been in a bear market since early 2025, but the high institutional adoption and regulatory clarity have blinded investors.

“This is not a bull market correction or a dip. It is a full-bore, 2022-like, Leonardo-DiCaprio-in-The-Revenant-style crypto winter set into motion by factors ranging from excess leverage to widespread profit-taking by OGs,” Hougan stated.

What’s Next?

Hougan, however, stated that the Bitcoin bottom is closer as its four-year bear cycle is in the last phase. Moreover, Hougan believes that Bitcoin investors are banking on regulatory progress and high institutional adoption, to drive a bullish rebound ahead.

Source: X

Nonetheless, onchain data from Santiment shows that key Bitcoin investors have been aggressively selling while retail buys-back, a classic sell signal. From a technical analysis standpoint, if Bitcoin buyers fail to defend $73k in the coming day, a further correction towards $69k will be inevitable.