Bitcoin demonstrated the fourth worst quarter in its history

Bitcoin BTC $72,904.89 Mezo Wrapped BTC 2.36% Market capitalization $40.6 million VOL. 24 hours $1.57 billion finished the first quarter of 2026 with a decline of about 18.3%, making it the fourth weakest start to the year in the history of the asset. Coinglass data shows that the decline of the flagship crypto market is second only to the results of 2018 (-49.7%), 2014 (-37.42%), and 2015 (-24.14%).

Despite the negative dynamics, history shows that weak first quarters have repeatedly been followed by strong recoveries. For example, in 2020, after falling by -10.83% in Q1, Bitcoin grew by 42.33% in Q2 and 168% in Q4. In 2017, a modest increase in the first quarter turned into an explosive growth of 215% at the end of the year.

The statistics also demonstrate the high volatility of the asset. Quarterly averages since 2013 show that Bitcoin’s strongest performance has traditionally been at the end of the year: the average Q4 was 77.07%, while Q1 was only 46.25%. At the same time, the median result of the first quarter is -2.26%, which confirms the frequency of negative starts even in periods of overall growth.

Analysts emphasize that the current decline does not necessarily define the entire year. Historical examples show that after a weak start, Bitcoin has often shown significant recoveries in the following quarters.

Further developments in 2026 will show whether the asset will repeat the familiar scenario of recovering from a negative start or deviate from established cycles and continue to move towards new lows.