Bitcoin has fallen below $90,000, hitting its lowest level since mid-November, as the cryptocurrency market experiences a wave of sell-offs due to economic turmoil caused by US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and a number of internal problems in the industry, Bloomberg reports.
Bitcoin fell 6.1% to its lowest since Nov. 15 on Tuesday morning, before recovering slightly to trade at $89,005 as of 1:53 p.m. Eastern Time. Other major cryptocurrencies also suffered significant losses, with Ether, XRP, and Solana all seeing sharp declines in the latest session.
The correction was a stark contrast to the market rally that followed Trump’s election as US president in November. Bitcoin has since lost nearly 20% of its value since his inauguration in January, when Trump’s aggressive foreign trade policies began to cause concern among investors. His confrontational rhetoric towards allies and geopolitical rivals, as well as fears of rising inflation, have undermined confidence in risk assets.
"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, CEO of crypto exchange Independent Reserve.
More than $1.34 billion in long cryptocurrency positions have been liquidated in the derivatives market in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass data, indicating panic among investors and massive loss-taking.
The decline in the price was also caused by recent industry scandals. Among them is the largest cryptocurrency hack in history of the Bybit exchange, which resulted in the theft of about $ 1.5 billion in Ethereum. According to analysts, the attack was carried out by North Korean hackers, who have already begun to launder the stolen funds. The incident has once again raised the issue of the security of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Another blow to the market is the memecoin scandal involving Argentine President Javier Millay. The newly launched token quickly lost value after the initial hype, causing additional negative impact on the market.
The memecoins launched by Donald Trump and his wife Melania ahead of the inauguration have also suffered significant losses. According to CoinGecko, the Trump token lost more than 80% of its peak value almost immediately after its launch, casting doubt on Trump’s stated support for the cryptocurrency industry.
"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 company that provides liquidity for crypto derivatives.
Bitcoin’s decline below $90,000 signals a growing level of uncertainty among crypto investors, who are concerned about both global economic instability and the industry’s internal problems. Given recent events and Trump’s policies, the cryptocurrency market may remain under pressure for a long time to come.