Bitcoin slides below $90,000 as crypto selloff gathers steam

By Suvashree Ghosh

Bitcoin tumbled below $90,000 to hit the lowest since mid-November, as the rally that followed Donald Trump’s election to the White House reverses under the weight of his trade tariffs and a string of industry setbacks.

Bitcoin dropped as much as 6.1 per cent to its lowest point since Nov 15 before recovering slightly to trade at $89,700 at 8:50 a.m. London on Tuesday after hitting its lowest point since Nov 18. Other cryptocurrencies also fell, with Ether, XRP and Solana down sharply for the session.

The recent turmoil in digital assets is a stark shift from the risk-on rally that drove crypto markets higher following Trump’s election in early November. Bitcoin has tumbled almost 20 per cent since his January inauguration, as Trump’s combative stance against allies and geopolitical rivals alike shakes investor confidence, and concerns about elevated inflation linger.   

“The fall in Bitcoin prices is likely related to broader macro uncertainty that has hit most financial markets in the last couple of days and is linked to the various tariffs being announced by President Trump,” said Adrian Przelozny, chief executive of crypto exchange Independent Reserve.

In derivatives markets, more than $1.34 billion of bullish crypto positions were liquidated over a 24-hour period, according to data on CoinGlass.

Memecoins, Giant Hack

Sentiment has also soured following a series of recent industry-specific setbacks, including the biggest-ever crypto hack targeting exchange Bybit and a memecoin scandal involving Argentina’s President Javier Milei. That helps explain why digital coins have underperformed other risk assets like technology stocks in recent weeks.

The Bybit hack, in particular, has added to fears about the safety of digital-asset platforms. Hackers which analysts say are linked to North Korea made off with about $1.5 billion of Ether in last week’s attack and have started quickly laundering the haul. Several researchers say the heist revealed a rising level of sophistication among North Korea’s army of hackers.

Memecoins launched by Trump and his wife Melania just before the inauguration have also performed poorly, undermining confidence in his pro-crypto policies. The Trump token has tumbled more than 80 per cent since peaking almost immediately after he launched it, based on CoinGecko data. 

“The Bybit hack was the latest in a string of events, such as questionable memecoin launches, that have brought back unhappy memories for crypto market participants,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of liquidity for crypto derivatives.