Hello Reader,

For those who attended my presentation in Tuscaloosa last August, I know the current bitcoin price action may feel discouraging. Watching bitcoin fall in dollar terms is never fun, especially if you are newer to the asset and still trying to understand whether you made the right decision.

But here is the important context: this is not unusual for bitcoin. In fact, it is one of the most normal, recurring patterns in bitcoin’s history.

Since bitcoin’s inception, every fourth year has historically been a difficult year for price: 2014, 2018, 2022, and now 2026. These bear markets are emotionally uncomfortable, but they are also where much of bitcoin’s long-term ownership base gets rebuilt. Coins move from impatient hands to patient hands. Weak hands sell. Strong hands accumulate.

That may sound harsh, but it is simply how markets work. Every cycle has a period where price falls far enough, and sentiment gets bad enough, that people begin to question the entire thesis. Then, in hindsight, that same period often looks like one of the best opportunities to acquire the scarcest monetary asset the world has ever known.

That does not mean bitcoin cannot go lower from here. It absolutely can. And nothing in this newsletter should be read as investment advice. This is education, not a recommendation. But understanding the cycle helps keep emotion from becoming the decision-maker.

This chart is helpful because it zooms us out. Bitcoin’s day-to-day price is volatile, but the longer-term adoption trend has been remarkably consistent. The black line shows bitcoin’s actual price. The blue, orange, and red lines help frame where price has historically traded relative to bitcoin’s long-term growth path.

The lesson is not that any model can predict the future perfectly. No model can. The lesson is that bitcoin’s volatility is not random chaos. It has followed recognizable long-term patterns, and bear markets have been part of that pattern from the beginning.

That brings me to this week’s Video of the Week by Joe Consorte, which I highly recommend watching.

Joe does a great job explaining why bitcoin can be down sharply while stocks, AI-related companies, and other risk assets appear to be doing well. His basic argument is that bitcoin is not necessarily falling because something is wrong with bitcoin. It is falling because the market is currently obsessed with AI, mega-cap technology, and massive capital raises.

And that matters.

When a new speculative mania captures the market’s attention, capital has to come from somewhere. Bitcoin is one of the most liquid assets in the world. It trades 24/7. It can be sold quickly. So when investors want dollars to chase the next hot opportunity, bitcoin often becomes the piggy bank.

That is frustrating if you hold bitcoin, but it is also clarifying. A price decline driven by liquidity needs and market rotation is very different from a decline caused by a failure in bitcoin’s network, security, or monetary properties. Joe’s video makes that distinction well. In the transcript, he describes bitcoin as walking down a “staircase” of historically important levels, including the 200-week moving average, realized price, and long-term holder cost basis. He also frames the current move within bitcoin’s recurring four-year cycle.

The broader market backdrop makes this especially important. SpaceX’s record-sized IPO has reportedly raised $75 billion at a valuation near $1.75 trillion, and OpenAI and Anthropic have also been part of a broader wave of AI-related public-market activity and speculation. (Reuters) Whether every AI valuation proves justified is a separate question. The point is that AI has sucked an enormous amount of attention, excitement, and liquidity out of the market.

That is why context matters.

Without context, a new bitcoin holder may look at the price and think, “Maybe I made a mistake.” With context, that same person may say, “This is painful, but it has happened before. This is part of the cycle. I need to keep learning before I make an emotional decision.”

Even if you do not take advantage of this particular bear market, the most valuable thing you can do right now is understand the pattern. Bitcoin’s four-year cycle has not disappeared. It may change over time as the asset matures, but so far it continues to rhyme. If that pattern continues, the education you gain in 2026 may be incredibly valuable as we move into the next phase of the cycle in 2027 and 2028.

Again, this is not investment advice. I am not telling you what to buy, sell, or hold. I am encouraging you to study. Bitcoin rewards patience, but patience is hard without understanding. Bear markets are where that understanding gets tested.

If you are feeling discouraged, I would urge you not to make decisions based solely on price. Revisit the fundamentals. Study the history. Look at the long-term charts. Ask yourself whether bitcoin’s core value proposition has changed.

Is the supply still capped at 21 million? Is the network still operating? Are blocks still being mined? Can anyone still send value globally without permission? Is the world’s debt problem getting better, or worse?

Those are the questions that matter most.

This week’s video by Joe Consorte is a helpful framework for understanding the current moment. It explains why bitcoin may be weak in dollar terms while the broader market appears strong, and why that weakness may be less about bitcoin itself and more about where speculative capital is temporarily flowing. I would also recommend following Joe’s work if you want more clear, data-driven bitcoin market commentary.

As always, I would love your feedback. Was this helpful? Did it resonate with your experience? Are you feeling more confident, more confused, or somewhere in between?

And if you found this useful, you can find more curated bitcoin education at TheBitcoinDentalNetwork.com.

To your Financial Freedom,

Mark R. Link D.D.S.