Bitcoin It fell as much as 5% to below $65,000 on Monday after US President Donald Trump announced plans to raise global tariffs to 15%.
The decline came as Asian stocks rose in early trading, highlighting the divergence of cryptocurrencies from the region’s stock markets amid renewed tariff uncertainty.
Bitcoin has been in a steep decline since reaching over $125,000 in October last year, and that decline has continued into the new year. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is down 26% so far this year and more than 47% since its October high.
Bitcoin falls
“With the sudden increase in tariffs, we believe investors are selling crypto assets in anticipation of a deeper market decline,” said Jeff May, chief operating officer of global blockchain technology company BTSE.
It added that investors are concerned that the buildup of U.S. forces around Iran is raising the possibility of an armed conflict that could spread across the region and affect global trade flows.
There is a major U.S. military buildup in the Middle East, and President Trump indicated last Thursday that he would decide in the next 10 days whether to launch an attack on Iran.
Markus Thielen, head of research at market intelligence platform 10x Research, said Bitcoin’s recent decline was driven by weak liquidity and low confidence in the market rather than a single headline.
Thielen said the current economic downturn falls into a typical bear market phase, characterized by low volume and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. midterm elections, and expects further declines toward $50,000 before a more durable bottom forms.
We saw a demand for safe havens. spot gold It rose more than 1% on Monday, marking a significant departure from Bitcoin, which has often been referred to as “digital gold,” including by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The cryptocurrency pared some of the losses, falling 2.6% to $65,615 as of 3:47 a.m. ET. ether The second most popular cryptocurrency fell 3.3% to $1,878.
Earlier this month, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hogan attributed Bitcoin’s decline primarily to a “four-year cycle” in the crypto market, arguing that the current retracement mirrors a pattern seen during past declines. Bitwise has over $15 billion in assets under management and focuses on crypto ETFs.
Hogan emphasized that there was no single factor behind the losses, instead pointing to investors’ shift to gold and artificial intelligence stocks, as well as lingering concerns about Fed candidate Kevin Warsh and broader “quantum risks.” Bitcoin hit its lowest level in over a year on February 5th at $63,119.8.
— CNBC’s Blair Bao contributed to this report.
