Bitcoin’s weekly chart is showing an uncomfortable comparison to one of the most brutal sell-offs in its history, and at least one analyst believes the worst may still be ahead.
This technical outlook is looking at the current price action as a mirror of the 2022 macro fractal sequence that sent Bitcoin from $69,000 to a cycle low near $15,500, implying that the current cycle could see a similar drop.
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A 2022 Repeat? The Fractal That Raises Concerns
Crypto analyst philarekt posted a warning on X this week, identifying what he described as “the most dangerous macro fractal” currently playing out in Bitcoin’s price structure. The technical case rests on a side-by-side comparison of two weekly Bitcoin charts: the 2021 to 2023 cycle on the left and the current cycle on the right.
In the 2021 chart, Bitcoin reached a peak price above $69,000 and proceeded to form a 3-tap structure, which are three distinct lower highs arranged within a descending channel, each bounce rejected before a final capitulation leg lower. The price ultimately fell 34% from the final tap to the absolute cycle bottom in a move that caught many market participants off-guard.
The current chart, with a cycle peak at $126,000 in October 2025, shows the same architecture forming in almost identical proportion. Both the 2022 and 2026 panels show Bitcoin respecting a slanted resistance line at the top while gradually falling within a downward channel. Each bounce fails to break out, and eventually the price has created successive lower lows.
Bitcoin Price Chart. Source: @philarekt On X
What Happens If The Fractal Completes?
The weekly RSI, which tracks momentum, is following the same pattern observed in 2022. Lastly, there’s a moving average death cross on the Bitcoin price chart, where the short-term average has crossed below a long-term average.
This death cross appeared in early March when the 50 Simple Moving Average (SMA) crossed below the 200 Simple Moving Average (SMA). An equivalent 50/200 SMA death cross appeared in 2022 after Bitcoin was already down 58% from its high, and the cryptocurrency then declined a further 46% before finding a bottom.
If the sequence continues to play out as outlined, Bitcoin could be heading to a final capitulation move into the range between $40,000 and $50,000. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $72,756, up by 1.7% in the past 24 hours. The projected decline is taken directly from the 2022 template: a 34% decline from the current price zone would place the Bitcoin price within that range.
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However, the outlook is not entirely bearish after that scenario. The same fractal that points to a breakdown also points to what comes next. The capitulation in 2022 led the transition into accumulation that built the foundation for the next bull cycle.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
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