--- title: "Crypto Bros in Meltdown as Bitcoin Crashes" description: "After months of intense volatility, crypto traders are struggling to maintain a cohesive narrative as the blows keep coming." date: "2026-01-29" modified: "2026-01-29" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/crypto-bitcoin-crash-2026" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" --- # Crypto Bros in Meltdown as Bitcoin Crashes ![After months of intense volatility, crypto traders are struggling to maintain a cohesive narrative as the blows keep coming.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* The crypto market has not had a cozy winter. After Bitcoin suffered some [epic tumbles in November](), the OG cryptocurrency had been hovering around $90,000 — until today, that is. On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture Committee [advanced a bill]() that would establish a federal regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The bill's future prospects seem dim, but it resulted in a [sizable crash]() for Bitcoin, which fell to around $84,000 — its nadir for 2026 so far. Other prominent digital currencies like Ethereum and Doge fell it with, tumbling as much as 6 percent. Now, as crypto analysts speculate whether [further downfalls]() are in Bitcoin's future, crypto bros are struggling to maintain a cohesive narrative in the face of such epic volatility. Some were frustrated that a rising tide in the stock market didn't lift the Bitcoin boat. "Stocks go up, crypto stays flat. Stocks go down, crypto goes down," posted [crypto guru João Leite]() on X-formerly-Twitter. "Amazing tech." Others compared Bitcoin to gold futures, which have been volatile day-to-day, but are up to [record highs overall](). "Make it make sense," another [crypto poster wrote](). "Gold is up 193 percent over the last 5 years and everyone and their mother is talking about buying. Bitcoin is up 146 percent over the last 5 years after a pullback and everyone and their is \[sic\] completely oblivious to the price. BTW #Bitcoin is actually finite unlike Gold." Others struggled to make any sense of the crash at all. "None of this crypto sh\*t makes sense," [one netizen ranted]() on the r/CryptoCurrency subreddit. "Idk how so many people get involved with it if it can just disappear like this." "I'm really tired of all the manipulation but I'm sure they're doing it because they make money," one Facebook user wrote under a post on the crash [from *Bitcoin Magazine*](). "They short it and then they go along with it and they do everything except just leave it the hell alone and let it go up over time. Very frustrating." **More on crypto:** *[Bitcoin Crashing Is Actually Awesome News for Regular People, Economist Says]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()