How bad has H1 2026 been for bitcoin?
Bitcoin is on course for its worst H1 performance since 2022 — the year of the crypto winter that followed the collapse of Terra/Luna and, later, FTX. From its October 2025 all-time high of $126,272, bitcoin has shed more than half its value by the start of July 2026.
The crypto market broadly has fallen in step. Total market capitalisation dropped from approximately $3.5 trillion at its late 2025 peak to $2.11 trillion on 1 July 2026 (CoinMarketCap, 1 July 2026). Bitcoin’s dominance — its share of total crypto market cap — remains elevated at 55.3%, suggesting altcoins have fared even worse (CoinMarketCap, 1 July 2026).