Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, dropped below $70,000 on Thursday, 5 February, reaching its lowest level in the past 15 months amid a broad risk-off sentiment in global markets.
The prices of the crypto token dropped 9.05% to $69,231.67 at 5:54 pm on Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap data. The crypto token’s market capitalization stood at $1.38 trillion. Its trading volume in the last 24 hours was $89.33 billion.
Bitcoin is continuing its downward trend, having lost over 44% from its October peak, when it went above $126,000 mark. On Thursday, Bitcoin remained near the lowest levels seen since Donald Trump’s election victory in early November 2024, Bloomberg reported.
The earlier stages of the slump were driven by crypto-specific liquidations, while the current pressure stems from broader cross-asset stress. In the past 24 hours, approximately $722 million worth of bullish positions across various tokens have been liquidated, the report said, citing Coinglass data.
The volatile cryptocurrency surged following Trump’s election, as he was widely seen as a strong supporter of such tokens. In December 2024, he publicly celebrated bitcoin’s first crossing of the $100,000 mark.
However, it experienced a significant decline in April last year, dropping below $75,000 after the president announced sweeping tariffs that severely impacted global markets. Six months later, the crypto token, reached a record-high of $126,251.31.
Why is Bitcoin dropping?
The current Bitcoin slump is primarily driven by regulatory uncertainty, AFP reported. In July, the US Congress enacted a law to regulate stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency backed by traditional assets. However, the broader crypto legislation, known as the Clarity Act, remains stalled in the Senate.
Bitcoin has also been affected by Trump’s recent nomination of former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to lead the US central bank.
Warsh, seen as a defender of the Fed’s independence, reassured traditional markets and prompted investors to sell safe-haven assets such as gold and silver, causing their prices to plunge, the news portal noted.
Trump’s close connections to the crypto industry have led to allegations of conflicts of interest, as he has actively promoted his own cryptocurrency-related ventures since resuming office.
According to recent Bloomberg estimates, his family’s fortune grew by $1.4 billion last year, driven solely by digital assets. Hours before his inauguration in January 2025, Trump launched his own cryptocurrency, $TRUMP, which declined sharply after an impressive debut.
