Fernando Pessoa

Question: Is #bitcoin bottoming at $68K?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: We're in month 1 of a 5-9 month capitulation process, and you can't skip steps.
Wait, what?
Let me explain.
Bitcoin doesn't bottom when price crashes 46%.
It doesn't bottom when Fear & Greed hits 15.
It doesn't bottom when $5 billion gets liquidated.

It bottoms when TIME exhausts sellers.
And time? Time takes 5-9 months.
Here's the pattern everyone's missing:

2018 bear market: 113 days (4 months)

2022 bear market: 274 days (9 months)

2026 bear market: 5-9 months from NOW
We just started.
Let me show you what the next 5-9 months look like—and why you can't rush this.
Look at This Chart

See those blue boxes?
Left box: 2018-2019 bear market - 19 bars, 113 days

Middle box: 2022 bear market - 39 bars, 274 days

Right side: 2026 bear market - We just entered
That's how long it takes.

Not a week. Not a month. 4 to 9 months.
And we're in week 2.
What Is a "Time-Based Capitulation Zone"?
Most people think capitulation is about price.
"Price crashes 50%+ = capitulation = bottom."
That's wrong.
Capitulation isn't a single event. It's a process. And that process takes TIME.
The Historical Pattern

Look at Bitcoin's past bear markets:
2018-2019 Bear Market:
Duration: 19 bars (113 days) in capitulation zonePrice range: $6K → $3KTimeline: Entered zone November 2018, bottomed December 2018
2022 Bear Market:
Duration: 39 bars (274 days) in capitulation zonePrice range: $30K → $15.5KTimeline: Entered zone May 2022, bottomed November 2022
2026 Bear Market (Now):
Duration: Estimated 5-9 monthsPrice range: $126K → $68K (so far)Timeline: Entered zone February 2026, bottom likely July-October 2026
The pattern: Capitulation takes 4-9 months, not days or weeks.

Why Time Matters More Than Price

Here's what most traders get wrong.
What They Focus On (Price Signals):
✓ Price dropped 46%

✓ Fear & Greed hit 15 (Extreme Fear)

✓ $5.42B in liquidations

✓ Volume exhausted

And they say: "All the capitulation signals are here! Buy now!"

The problem: These price-based signals happened in Week 2 of the 2022 bear. The actual bottom came 9 months later.
What Actually Matters (Time Process):
Phase 1: Shock Drop (Weeks 1-4)
Price crashes fast. Panic everywhere. Everyone thinks "this is it."
Phase 2: Dead Cat Bounces (Weeks 5-12)
Price bounces 20-30%. Hope returns. "Bottom is in!" Then it crashes again.
Phase 3: Grinding Lower (Months 3-6)
Slow bleed. No bounces. Just sideways-to-down. Boredom + fear.
Phase 4: Final Capitulation (Months 6-9)
Last panic sell-off. Then... silence. Bottom forms not with a bang, but with exhaustion.
We're currently in Phase 1, heading into Phase 2.
The 2022 Playbook (What to Expect)
Let me show you how 2022 played out—because 2026 is following the same script.
May 2022: The Crash
Luna/UST collapse triggers panic$BTC drops from $40K to $28K (-30%)Everyone: "This is capitulation!"Reality: It wasn't. It was Phase 1.
June-July 2022: Dead Cat Bounces
BTC bounces to $24K, then $22KTraders: "Bottom is in! Back to $30K!"Reality: More longs to liquidate. Back down we go.
August-October 2022: The Grind
BTC ranges $18K-$22KBoring. Sideways. Nobody cares anymore.Volume dries up. Sentiment shifts from fear to apathy.

November 2022: Final Capitulation
FTX collapsesBTC dumps to $15,479This was the actual bottom. 6 months after the initial crash.
Total duration: 6 months from "capitulation started" to "bottom confirmed."

Where We Are Now (February 2026)

We just entered the zone.
Here's what the next 5-9 months probably look like:
February 2026 (NOW):
Crashed to $68K lowFear & Greed hit 15Everyone calling bottomReality: Phase 1 complete. Phases 2-4 ahead.
March-April 2026:
Dead cat bounces to $80K-$90K"Bull market is back!" narrativesReality: More liquidations, back down.
May-June 2026:
Grinding lower, $60K-$70K rangeBoredom sets inRetail loses interest
July-August 2026:
Possible final low: $50K-$60K range?Or maybe just a wick to $55KThis is when bottom likely forms.
September-October 2026:
Recovery beginsNew uptrend confirmedFour-year cycle resumes
Total timeline: 5-9 months from now = July-October 2026 bottom.

Why You Can't Rush This
People always ask: "Why can't we just bottom now? All the signals are here!"
Because sellers need time to exhaust.
It's Not About Price, It's About Psychology
Week 1: Panic sellers exit

Week 4: Overleveraged traders get liquidated

Week 8: "Buy the dip" crowd gives up

Week 12: Swing traders capitulate

Month 4: Long-term holders start questioning

Month 6: Final wave of "I'm done with crypto" selling

Only then after TIME has exhausted EVERY type of seller does the bottom form.

You can't skip steps. You can't speed it up.
Capitulation is a process, not an event.
What This Means for You
If we're in a 5-9 month capitulation zone, here's how to think about it:
If You're Waiting to Buy:
Don't go all-in now.
Yes, prices are "cheap" compared to $126K. But they might get cheaper.
Layer your buys:
20% now ($68K range)30% in April-May ($63K-$68K range)50% in July-August ($55K-$63K range)
If You're Already Holding:
Don't panic sell.
If you believe in Bitcoin long-term (2-5 years), this 5-9 month chop is noise.
$50K, $60K, or $70K all irrelevant if it's going to $150K-$200K eventually.
But don't add heavy here. Wait for Phase 4 (final capitulation).
If You're Trading:
Trade the bounces, not the trend.
We're in a range for months. Buy dips, sell rips. Don't hold.
Expect:
Bounces to $78K-$88K (sell)Drops to $58K-$63K (buy)Repeat for 4-6 months
The Key Dates to Watch
Based on historical patterns, here are the critical windows:
March-April 2026:
Dead cat bounce phase. If we rally to $83K-$93K, don't FOMO. It's a bull trap.
May-June 2026:
The grind. If you're still underwater, this is where it tests your conviction.
July-August 2026:
Most likely bottom window.
Watch for:
Fear & Greed dropping below 10Capitulation wick (sharp drop + immediate recovery)Volume spike on selling exhaustionOn-chain: Long-term holders accumulating aggressively
September-October 2026:
Confirmation phase. If bottom formed in July-August, this is when uptrend confirms.
What Could Change This Timeline?
Not everything follows historical patterns. Here's what could break the 5-9 month timeline:
Scenario 1: Macro Crash (Faster Bottom)
If Bitcoin drops to $40K-$50K in March due to macro collapse, the timeline compresses.
Extreme pain = faster capitulation.
Scenario 2: #etf Inflows Resume (No Deep Bottom)
If institutions start buying again in April-May, we might bottom at $63K-$68K without going lower.
Strong buyers = shallower correction.
Scenario 3: Supercycle (No Traditional Bear)
If CZ's supercycle thesis is right, 2026 might not follow the four-year cycle at all.
New paradigm = no playbook.
But based on current data, the 5-9 month timeline is most likely.
The Bottom Line
Bitcoin is at $68,000.
We just entered a time-based capitulation zone.
Historical data says:
2018-2019: 113 days (4 months)2022: 274 days (9 months)2026: Likely 5-9 months

What that means:
Bottom probably forms July-October 2026We're only in Phase 1 (shock drop)Phases 2-4 ahead (bounces, grind, final capitulation)Don't expect a quick V-shaped recovery
What to do:
Layer your buys over months, not daysDon't panic sell if holding long-termTrade the range if you're activeWatch July-August for actual bottom signals
The hardest part:
Waiting. Patience. Accepting that the bottom isn't here yet.
But that's how bear markets work.
Time > Price.

What's your take do you think the bottom forms in 5-9 months, or is this timeline wrong? Are you buying now or waiting? Let me know.

This is the Bitcoin Situation for the Next 3 Years

Since last August I warned that the $108,000 level could not be lost in Bitcoin or else we entered a bearish cycle and it was going to be hard.

I am not a guru nor do I have a crystal ball.

But I try to get informed and I dedicate a lot of time to understanding what a Halving is. I understand mining costs. I understand staking. I understand leverage.

But above all we need to understand how all this leads us to CYCLES.

This chart is very powerful for understanding Bitcoin.

Each line is a cycle since its Halving. This event happens every 4 years.

The first cycle (the blue one) made the high somewhat earlier but the following cycles have made their highs at the same moment. All the lows have happened one year after reaching this high.

This last cycle (the strong yellow one) looks smaller and this is not a coincidence. Notice that each cycle is smaller than the previous one.

And this makes sense.

Bitcoin cycles are INFLATIONARY AND LOGARITHMIC.

Inflationary and logarithmic?

This is vital. Let me translate it for you.

Bitcoin should follow inflation because it is a finite asset like gold or real estate in certain areas.

Easy but logarithmic?

This is something you can't IGNORE anymore.

🤔 Bitcoin cycles go up less every time.

One reason is that the more an asset capitalizes the more it costs to keep it going up. Money in the world is finite and therefore when something capitalizes billions it starts to be complicated to make it grow in a faster rate than inflation.

But you must also know that in the Halvings the rewards to miners are reduced.

At the beginning this meant a beastly reduction of many BTCs which drove the price very high. But now the reward is barely reduced by 3 or 1 BTC so the price cannot rise at the same pace.

If we pay attention to previous cycles Bitcoin will keep falling in 2026 until the end of the year before starting a recovery. This is the most likely scenario right now.

So much for Bitcoin theory so let us go to the practical part.

🚀 Where will this low happen?

I do not know and nobody knows but we have clues.

In each of the cycles we have seen the price retreat from highs.

And a lot.

The first cycle down 85%
The second down 80%
The third down 75%

And now?

Maybe 70%? It could be. It is just an approximation.

This last drop to $60,000 is already a great milestone as the price has corrected 50% but in previous cycles we see that the best is still to come. It can fall another 50% down to $30k or $40k to meet the levels close to 70% correction which would seem plausible based on previous behavior.

In terms of price it seems there is a gap to fill and in terms of time it is even better.

Correction time of first cycle is 12 months
Correction time of second cycle is 12 months
Correction time of third cycle is 12 months

If this fourth cycle lasts the same as the previous ones we will be talking about seeing the moment of maximum pain in October 2026.

That is the moment where we will all say that $BTC is going to 0.

Who knows.

But, if we start accumulating in the $60k zone and save some money for the $30-40k area, we could easily average a $50k position during 2026.

After three years we should be at the next cycle peak which following a logarithmic progression could be somewhat higher than these last $120k (current cycle peak).

Let us assume $150k. (Which is a number I get from the serie of previous rallies, but there is too much math for today)

We are talking about selling the investment for triple the price in 3 years. That is a return that is not bad at all.

The risk is total. I go without a Stop Loss. It is aspirational investment and in no case is it capital protection.

And while we wait for the price to reach the right zone to keep buying, you could also make a quick trade to catch the next 10% rally.

👇 WANT MORE?

🚀 Hit the rocket, read my profile and follow so we can find each other again.
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{future}(BTCUSDT)

While Mr. Hetmantsev and his gang continue to chew over the bill on taxation of income from virtual assets, written with the left foot, the fiscal machine does not stop, and from any of our incomes, the state wants its share.

As of today, our tax authority considers crypto as an intangible asset and, accordingly, the tax arises at the moment of receiving income from this asset - this can be a sale/exchange for fiat or purchasing goods or services with crypto. While it is sitting in your wallet or on the exchange - there is no obligation to pay tax.