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Bitcoin's $1 trillion identity crisis hits from every direction
By Isabelle Lee and Vildana Hajric
Bloomberg News
Saturday, February 21, 2026
It wouldn't have seemed possible a year ago. But Bitcoin has gotten caught in one of its deepest struggles yet, with no obvious way out.
The world's largest cryptocurrency has plunged more than 40% from its peak, and the usual playbook isn't working -- dip buyers have vanished, and the forces that would normally fuel a rebound are now working against it. Gold is winning the macro-hedge argument. Stablecoins are winning payments. Prediction markets are winning speculation.
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The strange part: None of this is happening because the system failed Bitcoin. Washington has never been more accommodating. Institutional adoption has never been deeper. Wall Street has never been more bought in. Bitcoin got everything it wanted — and it wasn’t enough.
That means the defining struggle of this crypto era isn’t about price. It's about purpose. And this selloff is forcing a question Bitcoin hasn't needed to answer when prices were rising: If it isn't the best hedge, the best payment rail or the best speculation -- what, exactly, is it for? ...
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