Some of the most prominent names in the crypto industry believe the bill will be approved soon. Meanwhile, BTC's price struggles continue.Some of the most prominent names in the crypto industry believe the bill will be approved soon. Meanwhile, BTC's price struggles continue.

Bear Market Fears Grow as BTC Struggles Below $70K, CLARITY Act Resolution Nears: Weekly Crypto Recap

2026/02/20 22:07
4 min read

After several consecutive weeks of intense volatility and new multi-year lows, bitcoin has finally found some support but also significant resistance that continues to suppress its breakout attempts.

Last Friday, the cryptocurrency tested the $65,000 support after it was stopped at $70,000 and $72,000 days earlier. The bulls intervened at this point and didn’t allow another breakdown. Just the opposite; bitcoin started to recover some ground and exceeded $70,000 in a rare weekend rally.

Nevertheless, that was another short-term fakeout as the asset’s attempt failed in its tracks. By Monday, it had already lost that coveted psychological level and began a gradual descent. After a few days of trading sideways between $68,000 and $70,000, it broke down to under $66,000 yesterday amid multiple calls about further declines, and new lows of down to $10,000 in some doomsday scenarios.

It reacted rather well to this drop and jumped to just over $68,000 earlier today. However, another rejection awaited, and BTC now sits below $67,000 once again. This means that its weekly performance is somewhat negative, given the fact that it traded slightly above this level at this time last Friday when we published our previous update.

Even the more volatile altcoin sector has not posted any significant moves in either direction. XRP, BNB, and ADA are slightly in the green, while ETH, LINK, and XLM are with some losses.

More impressive gains come from the likes of WLFI, PEPE, and ZEC, while HYPE has dropped the most from the larger-cap alts.

Market Data

Cryptocurrency Market Overview Weekly Feb 20. Source: QuantifyCryptoCryptocurrency Market Overview Weekly Feb 20. Source: QuantifyCrypto

Market Cap: $2.36T | 24H Vol: $95B | BTC Dominance: 56.4%

BTC: $66,750 (-1%) | ETH: $1,930 (-2%) | XRP: $1.38 (+0.3%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Ethereum Foundation Flags Post-Quantum Security as Core Priority in 2026 Protocol Roadmap. The Ethereum Foundation published a 2026 roadmap post, saying it would prioritize post-quantum security and further increases to the gas limit. It also wants to restructure its development efforts into three core tracks covering scaling, user experience, and Layer 1 security.

2,486 BTC: Strategy Doubles Down as Portfolio Hits Unrealized Loss. Although its enormous stash continues to be deep in the red (in terms of unrealized losses), Saylor’s Strategy announced another BTC acquisition this week, purchasing 2,486 BTC for just under $170 million. It now holds more than 717,000 BTC.

Ripple CEO Garlinghouse Predicts CLARITY Bill Has 90% Chance of Approval Soon. Although banks, the crypto industry, and lawmakers continue to struggle to find a resolution to the highly anticipated CLARITY Act, Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse said after the most recent meeting that bipartisan interest in the legislation is high, which is why he expects approval soon.

Ethereum Staking Address Now Holds Over Half ETH Supply For First Time Ever: Santiment. Data from the analytics company indicated that over half of ETH’s supply is now held by Ethereum’s proof-of-stake contract address for the first time in the asset’s eleven-year history.

CryptoQuant Founder Proposes Freezing Old Bitcoin Addresses to Prevent Quantum Attacks. It might be years away from deployment, but quantum computing is a main concern within the cryptocurrency community. CryptoQuant’s CEO proposed that old Bitcoin addresses might need to be frozen to prevent quantum attacks in the future.

Bitcoin Entering Phase 2 Bear Market, Analyst Warns. As mentioned earlier, analysts are rushing to offer their views on the bear market topic, suggesting that the asset might be months away from a more profound recovery. Veteran chartist Willy Woo said BTC has strengthened its bear market trend and has approached the second phase of a multi-stage downturn.

Charts

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid – click here for the complete price analysis.

The post Bear Market Fears Grow as BTC Struggles Below $70K, CLARITY Act Resolution Nears: Weekly Crypto Recap appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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