Bitcoin value plunges below $70,000, lowest since Trump's win

SINGAPORE: Bitcoin fell sharply yesterday as a drop in risk appetite due to rising volatility in precious metal prices, as well as a sell-off of tech shares, contributed to a worsening decline.

The largest cryptocurrency fell to a low of $66,675.12, its lowest since October 2024, a month before Trump won the US presidential election, after signaling his plans to back crypto on the campaign trail. It was last down 6.5pc at 67,817.

Overall, the cryptocurrency market globally has reduced in value by $2 trillion from an all-time peak of $4.379 trillion in early October, with $800 billion of the loss occurring in the last month alone, according to CoinGecko.

Bitcoin has lost 11pc this week, which brings the losses to date to 23pc. Meanwhile, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has fallen more than 7pc to $1,973 on Thursday. It has lost nearly 14pc this week, and the losses to date are now around 34pc.

The price of Bitcoin already declined 11pc this week, leading to its cumulative decline this year so far, which stands at 23pc. The second-largest cryptocurrency currently, in terms of market capitalization, is Ether, which fell over 7pc and was valued around $1,973 on Thursday. Ether lost 14pc this week, and its cumulative decline this year so far is around 34pc.

Sentiment in the crypto space was impacted by the latest metal and stock selloffs. For example, the price of metals such as gold and silver now fluctuate due to leveraged purchases and speculation. In particular, the price of silver dropped by as much as 16.6pc to lows of 73.41.

“It’s clear the crypto market is now in full capitulation mode,” Nic Puckrin, an investment analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau, said. “If previous cycles are anything to go by, this is no longer a short-term correction—this is a move from distribution to reset, and this obviously takes months, not weeks.”