Bitcoin heads for a sixth straight weekly loss, down 21% this year, as Anthropic's giant IPO looms over markets

Bitcoin is heading for a sixth straight weekly loss, CoinDesk reported on Friday, extending a slide that has left it down 11% in November, 17% in the fourth quarter and 21% so far in 2026. The longest losing run on record is nine weeks, set in 2022. CoinDesk compared the streak with one in the first quarter that ended with prices bottoming near $60,000.

Bitcoin fell below $70,000 during Friday's US session, its first time under that level since August, TheStreet reported, and The Rio Times put its close at about $69,556. October producer prices rose 0.3% from September, slightly less than the 0.4% economists expected, both outlets reported. Traders are increasingly pricing in a quarter-point Federal Reserve rate increase at the December 9 meeting, according to TheStreet and CoinDesk. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% on the day, according to The Rio Times.

CoinDesk cited investors freeing up cash for Anthropic's coming share sale as one possible explanation for the sell-off. Bloomberg reported that the offering has drawn orders for about six times the shares available, CoinDesk said, with Anthropic seeking to raise up to $64.4 billion plus a $26 billion private placement at a fully diluted valuation of about $1.4 trillion. CoinDesk noted that bitcoin fell about 20% in early June, from roughly $75,000 to $60,000, before SpaceX began trading on June 12, and recovered toward $68,000 after the listing. Cryptoweek reports market moves and does not give investment advice.