Sure it is loosing , Just look at the bitcoin price today , lossing , loosing and loosing.
No, it is just the strategies of whales and some bad news happened in other countries that is why the price is dropping. But I am sure that bitcoin will recover again soon. Maybe in march or in mid of this year. I heard that what is happening now with bitcoin is normal and it will recover soon.
The struggles they have right now is just a test on how bitcoin will handle it, the popularity of bitcoin is still high. Many people already trust bitcoin as its progress goes higher. Bitcoin is known in different country and many investors use bitcoin to earn, so there is a small possibility that it will losses its popularity.