Bitcoin Price Tanks Below $90,000, Down 20% From Trump-Induced Highs

• Bitcoin plunged on Tuesday, trading below $90,000 for the first time in months.
• The flagship token has suffered amid rising risk-off sentiment that’s hit other assets like stocks.
• Speculation in meme coins and a recent crypto hack have hurt confidence in the market, sources say.

Bitcoin fell on Tuesday to trade at its lowest level since November, dropping over 20% from its January all-time high.

The apex token dropped to nearly $86,000 Tuesday, as risk-off gloom settled over the market that was previously gearing up for a major rally as Donald Trump took office.

JPMorgan data shows that growing pessimism is industry-wide, with cryptocurrency ETFs hemorrhaging $544 million last week.

“DO NOT buy the dip yet. A move to the low 80s is on,” Geoff Kendrick, the head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said of bitcoin.

The crypto analyst has warned that $90,000 served as a key support level for the flagship cryptocurrency, and breaching it would risk a deeper downturn among digital assets, he said in January.

Bitcoin managed to stay above the threshold until Tuesday, kept afloat by bullish excitement about a crypto-friendly Trump administration. But with the president’s promises failing to match the surge in bullishness — and with macroeconomic uncertainty on the rise — appetite for digital assets has suffered.

Over the past few weeks, growing fears about tariffs, inflation, and high interest rates delivered the first blows to crypto optimism this year. Increased doubt about the performance of AI tech stocks has also contributed to the market’s broadening risk aversion, compelling investors to move toward safer options.

To Kendrick, bitcoin is also shedding value due in part to a frenzy taking place in the meme coin sector. While the flagship token isn’t directly involved in that side of the market, analysts have warned that a string of meme coin scandals is tarnishing trust in the broader crypto ecosystem.

The trend has been particularly painful for altcoin, with tokens such as Solana, and Ethereum down 41% and 28% month-to-date, respectively.

Additional pressure was heaped on bitcoin and altcoins last week when the industry underwent what could be the largest crypto theft in history: nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum was stolen from Bybit, a crypto exchange that said it was hacked on Friday.

“The Bybit hack is another wake-up call for the industry, highlighting the ongoing vulnerabilities of CEXs and the inherent risks that are tied to them. Beyond the immediate market dip we’re seeing right now, the bigger question is whether this incident will push regulators to tighten oversight and exchanges to reinforce security measures—which would have a lasting impact on market structure and trading behavior,” Marc Tillement, director of the Pyth Data Association, wrote over the weekend.

Questions about crypto regulation and policy will remain a chief factor driving bitcoin bulls this year. But for those betting that bitcoin’s price will surge higher due to government adoption, fresh uncertainty came from three state governments:

“Despite US President Donald Trump’s recent pro-Bitcoin stance, three state-level proposals for Bitcoin reserves failed in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming,” BRN analyst Valentin Fournier wrote. “The reluctance to adopt state-run Bitcoin reserves underscores the political risks, as policymakers avoid accusations of speculating with taxpayer funds.”

Before Trump came into office, speculation was high that a national bitcoin reserve would be created. This too is uncertain, after the president signed an crypto executive order that did not address the anticipated idea.

A number of tokens and crypto-related stocks are down. In the past 24 hours, bitcoin has fallen 8.61%. Solana, XRP, and Ethereum are down 12%, 10.5%, and 10.84%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Strategy, a software firm reputed for its massive trove of bitcoin tokens, has sunk over 11% as of 10:20 a.m. ET on Tuesday.