E-Paper
Bitcoin falls below $90,000, down nearly 10% in two days
Bitcoin's value has plunged below the 90,000 dollar mark for the first time since January 9, driven by a selloff in global markets and geopolitical tensions.
Bitcoin fell back below the $90,000-mark, hitting its weakest level in over a week as a broad selloff swept through global markets and investors pulled back from riskier assets amid mounting geopolitical uncertainty.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped under $90,000 for the first time since January 9, mirroring losses across equities, long-term US Treasuries and Japanese government bonds as turbulence spread through debt markets, Bloomberg reported. After sliding as much as 4% on Tuesday, Bitcoin extended its decline into Wednesday’s Asian trading hours, last trading down 0.5% at 88,894 dollars as of 9:27 am in Singapore.
Market participants said the 90,000 dollars level has been a key technical threshold in recent weeks. Karim Dandashy, an over-the-counter trader at crypto firm Flowdesk, said the mark has repeatedly acted as a support zone since the start of the year and could prove crucial for Bitcoin’s near-term direction, as per the report.
Losses were sharper among smaller and less liquid cryptocurrencies. Ether sank more than 7%, while Solana slipped 5.3%. Shares linked to the digital-asset sector also came under pressure, with Coinbase Global Inc. falling 5.6% and Bitcoin-focused firm Strategy Inc. tumbling nearly 8%, the report stated.
Why crypto stocks are falling
The downturn in crypto came alongside heavy losses in broader financial markets after US President Donald Trump unsettled investors by challenging long-standing geopolitical norms, including remarks asserting US dominance in the Western hemisphere and pledging to take control of Greenland. These comments strained transatlantic relations and added to market unease. Japanese bonds also sold off sharply amid growing worries over the country’s fiscal outlook.
According to Shiliang Tang, managing partner at Monarq Asset Management, Bitcoin’s weekend slump reflects a wider retreat from risk assets driven by threats of US tariffs on European countries and escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding Greenland. He added that rallies in gold and silver, along with a weaker dollar, signal a shift toward safe-haven assets in response to aggressive US policy signals, the report noted.
In Japan, bond markets were rattled after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged food tax cuts as part of her election platform, fuelling concerns about increased government spending and looser fiscal discipline. Yields on 30 and 40-year Japanese government bonds jumped more than 25 basis points.
Despite the broader market weakness, corporate buying activity offered some support to Bitcoin. Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, said on Tuesday that it had purchased nearly 2.13 billion dollars worth of Bitcoin over the past eight days, marking its largest acquisition since July, the report further stated.
Jake Ostrovskis, head of over-the-counter trading at Wintermute, said the scale of the purchase highlights continued interest from both retail and institutional investors seeking Bitcoin exposure through equity-linked vehicles. He noted that Bitcoin outperformed Ether during the session following the announcement.
So far this year, investors have channelled roughly $1.2 billion into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, flows that had earlier helped lift prices after last year’s market downturn.
