Bitcoin drops nearly 8% during trading, falling below 73,000, erasing the gains since Trump's election

Bitcoin fell to its lowest point since Trump returned to the White House on Tuesday, erasing the gains accumulated since U.S. President Trump was elected. Despite the Trump administration showing a friendly stance toward cryptocurrencies and institutional adoption surging, Bitcoin has declined over 40% since reaching a historic high in October 2025.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that during the U.S. stock market midday session on Tuesday, cryptocurrencies broadly accelerated their decline. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $73,000, over $6,000 below its intraday high above $79,100 in the Asian session, a nearly 8% drop, hitting the lowest since early November 2024, after Trump’s election victory.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin, fell even more sharply. During the U.S. stock market midday, it dipped below $2,110, hitting a low not seen since May 2025, over 10% below its intraday high above $2,350 in the Asian session.

Although Bitcoin quickly rebounded above $74,000 afterward, it has declined more than 15% since the start of 2026. Investor concerns over economic headwinds continue to rise, with stock markets struggling to rebound amid low risk appetite and fears of an AI bubble, while market sentiment for cryptocurrencies has hit rock bottom. Augustine Fan, partner at Hong Kong-based crypto options platform SignalPlus, said, “Crypto sentiment is touching bottom, and the market is trading in a bear market mode.”

Leverage Liquidations Intensify Selling Pressure

Bitcoin broke below its intra-year low of $74,500 set on April 7, 2025, when Trump announced a so-called reciprocal tariff plan that shook global financial markets.

Bohan Jiang, senior derivatives trader at FalconX, said, “Many traders are trying to bottom fish, betting on a rebound above $80,000. As Bitcoin continues to decline, large positions are being liquidated, putting downward pressure on prices.”

Since the sell-off in October 2025, the cryptocurrency market has faced persistent downward pressure. Additional comments from Trump on tariffs at that time triggered a severe liquidation wave, wiping out $19 billion in leveraged token bets, and the broader crypto market has yet to recover. Aside from the price volatility in April, Bitcoin had mostly maintained levels above $75,000, the day after Trump’s re-election.

Institutions Hold Firm, Retail Investors Retreat

While some institutional holders remain steadfast, retail participation has declined as major long-term Bitcoin holders sell assets worth billions of dollars.

The so-called altcoins have significantly underperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum. The MarketVector Digital Assets 100 Small-Cap Index, which tracks the 50 smallest market cap digital assets out of 100, has plummeted nearly 70% over the past year. Since Bitcoin and Ethereum received approval for U.S. exchange-traded products and attracted institutional funds, other cryptocurrencies have continued to underperform. However, these spot ETFs—many of which are held by retail investors—saw billions of dollars in outflows in November.

Trader Morten Christensen, who operates AirdropAlert.com, said, “Bitcoin’s trading behavior still resembles that of high-beta risk assets rather than digital gold. That doesn’t mean the argument is dead—it just hasn’t been realized yet.”

Crypto Winter May Be Nearing an End

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

In a report on Monday, he stated, “This is not a ‘bull market correction’ or ‘short-term pullback.’ It’s a full-scale, 2022-style crypto winter.”

However, Hougan noted that this bear market may be nearing its end. He said that down cycles typically last about 13 months. If the start of the bear market is considered January 2025 rather than October 2024, cryptocurrencies could bottom out within weeks. He wrote, “Having experienced multiple crypto winters, I can tell you that the end of those winters feels very much like now: despair, desperation, and stagnation.”

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