Bitcoin fell nearly 8% intraday, dropped below 73,000, erasing gains since Trump's election.

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Bitcoin fell to its lowest point since Trump returned to the White House on Tuesday, erasing all the gains the iconic digital asset had accumulated since US President Trump’s election. Although the Trump administration has displayed a friendly stance toward cryptocurrencies and institutional adoption has surged, Bitcoin has dropped over 40% since reaching its all-time high in October 2025.

According to CoinMarketCap data, during Tuesday’s US stock market midday session on February 3, cryptocurrencies accelerated their decline. Bitcoin once fell below $73,000, more than $6,000 and nearly 8% down from its intraday high above $79,100 during the Asian morning session, marking a new low since early November 2024, following Trump’s election victory.

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, fell even more sharply, dropping below $2,110 during the US midday session and hitting its lowest level since May 2025. This was a drop of over 10% from its Asian morning high above $2,350.

Although Bitcoin quickly rebounded above $74,000 afterwards, it has already dropped over 15% since the beginning of 2026. Investors' concerns about economic headwinds are rising, the stock market is struggling to rebound amid low risk appetite and worries of an AI bubble, and sentiment in the cryptocurrency market has sunk to the bottom. Augustine Fan, a partner at Hong Kong crypto options platform SignalPlus, said: “Crypto sentiment is hitting the bottom, and the market is trading in bear mode.”

Leverage Liquidations Intensify Selling Pressure

On Tuesday, Bitcoin broke below its yearly low set on April 7, 2025, when it fell under $74,500, at the time when Trump announced his so-called reciprocal tariff plan that shook global financial markets.

Bohan Jiang, Senior Derivatives Trader at FalconX, said: “Many traders tried to bottom fish, betting on a rebound above $80,000. As Bitcoin kept dropping, a large number of positions were liquidated, putting pressure on the price.”

The cryptocurrency market has faced sustained downward pressure since the October 2025 sell-off. Additional comments by Trump on tariffs at the time sparked a severe wave of liquidations, wiping out $1.9 billion in leveraged token bets, and the broader crypto market has yet to recover. Aside from the price turbulence in April, Bitcoin had previously largely stayed above the $75,000 level reached the day after Trump’s re-election.

Institutions Hold On, but Retail Investors Retreat

While some institutional holders remain firm, retail participation has declined as major long-term Bitcoin holders have sold assets worth tens of billions of dollars.

So-called altcoins have lagged far behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. The MarketVector Digital Assets 100 Small-Cap Index, which tracks the smallest 50 out of 100 digital assets, has plummeted nearly 70% over the past year. Since Bitcoin and Ethereum received US ETF approval and attracted institutional inflows, other cryptocurrencies have consistently underperformed. However, these assets' spot ETFs — the majority of which are held by retail investors — saw tens of billions of dollars in outflows in November.

Morten Christensen, a trader who operates AirdropAlert.com, said: "Bitcoin still trades like a high-beta risk asset, rather than digital gold. That doesn’t mean the narrative is dead — it just means it hasn’t been realized yet."

Crypto Winter May Be Nearing Its End

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at digital asset management firm Bitwise, believes the cryptocurrency market has been in a full-blown winter since January 2025, similar to the bear markets of 2018 and 2022.

He said in a report Monday: “This is not a ‘bull market correction’ or a ‘short-term pullback’. This is a full-fledged, 2022-style crypto winter.”

However, Hougan notes this bear market may be nearing its end. He explains that down cycles usually last around 13 months. If the start of the bear market is set at January 2025 rather than October 2024, crypto could bottom out in a few weeks. He wrote: “As someone who has lived through multiple crypto winters, I can tell you: the end of those winters feels a lot like now — desperation, struggle, and lethargy.”

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market involves risks and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and has not considered the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Any investments made accordingly are at your own risk. ```