Bitcoin price crashes to lowest level since November as crypto market suffers fresh downturn

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground where the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

A sudden price collapse has seen bitcoin fall to its lowest level since November, triggering a broader downturn that has wiped nearly half a trillion dollars from the crypto market in recent days.

The world’s leading cryptocurrency fell below $89,000 on Tuesday, just a month after hitting an all-time high above $108,000. The peak coincided with the inauguration of Donald Trump, with the incoming US leader promising to be the first ever “bitcoin president”.

The latest downturn has also been partly attributed to President Trump, as he is yet to fulfil any of his major pledges after nearly a month in office.

“While the new Trump administration in the US has been touted for its pro-cryptoeconomic stance and the industry is eagerly awaiting this to manifest in a tangible way in the form of measures such as a mooted Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, President Trump has yet to deliver on any of his key promises despite nearly a month in the White House,” Petr Kozyakov, co-founder and chief executive of the crypto payment infrastructure platform Mercuryo, told The Independent.

The broader crypto market was also impacted by a hack of the Bybit platform on Friday, which has been described as the “biggest digital heist ever”. Hackers were able to steal around $1.5 billion (£1.2bn) after gaining control of an ethereum wallet operated by the Dubai-based crypto exchange.

Ethereum has dropped more than 15 per cent in value since the hack – more than double the relative losses of bitcoin – while other popular cryptocurrencies like Solana and XRP also suffered considerable sell-offs.

Bitcoin has remained the most valuable cryptocurrency since its inception in 2009, with its finite supply and scarcity drawing comparisons to safe-haven assets like gold and silver. But despite this growing reputation, industry figures می‌گویند the latest sell-off demonstrates that it is not yet considered a form of digital gold by investors.

“The cryptocurrency market is having a heliocentric reckoning as bitcoin slides below $89,000 amid a faltering US stock market and President Trump’s promises begin to flounder,” said Mr Kozyakov.

“Rather than being at the centre of the financial universe, bitcoin’s place remains at the periphery as an ultra risk-on asset to be readily sold at the very hint of macroeconomic or political troubles ahead.”