Bitcoin's latest plunge revives the debate over owning it—and whether it's just 'crypto being crypto'

Bitcoin has lost nearly half its value since reaching a record high above $123,000 in July 2025 . After years of bitcoin rewarding those who held through periods of volatility, the selloff is just the latest test of investors' mettle. But bitcoin's recent decline doesn't appear to reflect a fundamental change in the investment, says Daniel Sotiroff, associate director of ETF and Passive Strategies Research at Morningstar. "I think a lot of this is crypto being crypto," he says. …