Bitcoin (BTC) price tumbles below $90,000, wiping out nearly half a trillion dollars from crypto market cap

The cryptocurrency market has been shaken as Bitcoin struggles with a strong bearish sentiment, plummeting below the $90,000 mark.

Cryptocurrency markets have been shaken as Bitcoin struggles with strong bearish sentiment, plummeting below the $90,000 mark.

Beginning the week at $96,261, the world’s largest and most valuable cryptocurrency dropped over 10% to reach as low as $86,097 on Friday—its lowest level since November.

This sharp decline triggered a widespread sell-off across the crypto market, wiping out nearly half a trillion dollars in total market capitalization over the past few days.

From a high of $5.24 trillion on Monday, crypto market cap dropped to $5.01 trillion on Friday, before recovering slightly to $5.13 trillion on Wednesday.

Despite a weak rebound attempt, Bitcoin is currently trading at $88,256 at 1244 GMT.

Concerns mount amid consecutive bad news

Bitcoin had surged to a new all-time high of $109,228 on Jan. 20, the day of U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

However, investor confidence has been dented by the lack of any concrete action on Trump’s earlier promises to ease cryptocurrency regulations and establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Adding to market uncertainty are the Federal Reserve’s unclear interest rate policies and Trump’s recent announcement of additional tariffs. While markets had been expecting a Fed rate cut in June, inflationary pressures and the central bank’s cautious stance have dampened these expectations.

The Trump administration’s newly announced tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada have also intensified selling pressure. According to an analysis by QCP Capital, investors are concerned that trade restrictions could slow economic growth, limiting institutional demand for crypto assets.

Another factor that contributed to Bitcoin’s decline was a massive security breach at Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit on Feb. 21. Hackers compromised an Ethereum wallet belonging to the exchange, stealing approximately $1.5 billion in digital assets—the largest cryptocurrency theft in history.

Following Bitcoin’s price drop, U.S.-listed Bitcoin spot ETFs saw significant outflows, with investors pulling a net total of $938 million from 11 different Bitcoin ETFs.

Binance’s former CEO predicts $1 million Bitcoin price

British banking giant Standard Chartered has cautioned against further declines, warning that Bitcoin could fall even lower after setting a three-month low.

“The drop in U.S. Treasury yields could support Bitcoin in the long term due to its negative correlation. But given the ongoing ETF outflows, now may not be the right time to buy Bitcoin,” Geoff Kendrick, an analyst at the bank, said in a recent note.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency platform Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who previously predicted Bitcoin’s drop to $85,000, has now claimed that the cryptocurrency could eventually reach $1 million.

However, he also warned of potential pullbacks, suggesting that Bitcoin could retract to $985,000 after hitting this milestone.

Analysts considered the $86,000 level a crucial support zone, breaking which could trigger even steeper declines.