Bitcoin has slipped below $71,000, extending a sell-off that has now wiped out all of the cryptocurrency’s gains since Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024 and underscoring how quickly sentiment has turned in a market built on momentum.
The world’s most widely traded digital asset fell more than 7 percent on Thursday, deepening a decline that began in mid-January. By 04:30 GMT, Bitcoin was trading at around $70,900, leaving it nearly 20 percent lower than at the start of the year.
The drop is a sharp reversal from the exuberance that dominated late 2024. Bitcoin first crossed the $100,000 mark in December that year and returned to that level again in February and May 2025. But since hitting an all-time high above $127,000 in October, prices have largely trended downward, with each rebound proving short-lived.
That earlier surge was closely tied to politics. Trump’s return to the White House fuelled expectations that Washington would take a lighter regulatory approach to digital assets after years of crackdowns. During his campaign, Trump pledged to make the United States the world’s cryptocurrency capital and went on to launch his own crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, alongside his sons before winning the election.
Soon after taking office, Trump added to the optimism by announcing plans for a strategic crypto reserve that would include Bitcoin and four other digital currencies. For investors, it was a signal that cryptocurrencies had moved from the fringes closer to the centre of US economic policy.
That confidence has since been tested. A Trump-backed bill aimed at regulating cryptocurrency trading has stalled in the US Senate amid disagreements between banks and crypto firms, raising doubts about whether the industry will get the regulatory clarity it has been seeking.
Political scrutiny has also crept into the picture. On Wednesday, Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said he would investigate World Liberty Financial following a Wall Street Journal report that representatives of an Abu Dhabi official had signed a $500m deal to acquire a 49 percent stake in the venture. The episode has added another layer of uncertainty at a moment when markets are already jittery.
Bitcoin’s slide did not happen in isolation. Broader markets also weakened on Thursday, with silver plunging as much as 16 percent and benchmark stock indexes in Hong Kong and Japan falling about 1.3 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
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