Bitcoin's 2026 slide tied to weak demand, not Strategy: Coutts

Bitcoin fell as weak demand and shrinking global liquidity dragged the cryptocurrency lower, macro analyst Jamie Coutts said, pushing back against narratives that Strategy's accumulation activity was responsible for the selloff.

"The decline reflects weak demand and shrinking global liquidity rather than pressure from Michael Saylor's Strategy," Coutts said.

The distinction carries implications for Bitcoin's near-term trajectory. A selloff tied to a single corporate entity would imply finite, potentially short-lived pressure. A demand-driven decline linked to tightening liquidity conditions suggests a more persistent headwind that could last as long as global central banks maintain restrictive policy stances.

Strategy has continued accumulating Bitcoin at a record pace through debt and equity offerings, building one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries. Yet even that sustained buying has failed to arrest the decline, underscoring the dominance of macro factors over single-entity flows in the current environment.

The weakness comes as global liquidity measures contract across major economies, with central banks in the US, Europe, and Japan maintaining tight policy stances. Bitcoin's correlation with global M2 money supply has strengthened in recent months, making the cryptocurrency increasingly sensitive to shifts in central bank balance sheets.

Bitcoin's next key test will come as traders assess whether liquidity conditions show signs of easing in the second half of 2026. Until then, demand-side weakness is likely to remain the dominant driver of price action, reinforcing a bearish outlook for the largest cryptocurrency.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.