Bitcoin tumbles to Trump rally levels, down 27% from peak to below $80K mark
A Bitcoin coin is displayed against a backdrop of a declining red chart. (Adobe Stock Photo)
The sell-off wave in the cryptocurrency market pushed bitcoin below $80,000 on Friday, bringing it closer to rally levels following U.S. President Donald Trump’s victory in November.
The largest and most valuable digital asset dropped to as low as $79,000 in early hours on Friday—its lowest level since Nov. 11—plunging more than 27% from its record high of over $109,000 during Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
The market cap also fell to $1.5 trillion, marking a 24% decline from its $2 trillion peak, according to CoinMarketCap.
The unit saw an eye-watering rally after Trump’s election victory in November, driven by his campaign promise to free up regulations surrounding digital tokens and pledge to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.
Challenges persist, but optimism remains for another Trump rally
Bitcoin’s gains were in line with advances across world markets but the euphoria has dulled in recent weeks as the U.S. president has pursued a hardball policy of hammering partners with tariffs and threatening to spark a global trade war.
His pledges to slash taxes and immigration have also fanned concerns that he could reignite inflation, forcing the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates elevated longer than had been expected, while recent data have indicated the U.S. economy is slowing.
However, despite a sell-off that pushed it to its lowest level in three months, British banking giant Standard Chartered’s crypto analyst Geoffrey Kendrick reiterated his forecast that bitcoin will reach $500,000 during Trump’s presidency.
Speaking to CNBC, Kendrick said he expects bitcoin to hit the $200,000 mark this year before climbing even higher in the coming years.
“What the crypto ecosystem needs is for traditional financial players like Standard Chartered, BlackRock, and others involved in ETFs to fully step in. As the industry becomes more institutionalized, it will also become safer,” Kendrick said.
He added that increased institutional adoption, combined with greater “regulatory clarity” in the U.S., is likely to reduce market volatility over time.
Meanwhile, the Texas Senate’s Business and Commerce Committee passed Senate Bill 21 on Thursday, setting the stage for the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The legislation positions Texas as one of the first states to potentially hold a cryptocurrency reserve.
