The price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) continues falling despite efforts by President Trump to give the crypto world more of what it wants, including a strategic bitcoin reserve that the administration touted at the end of last week while hosting crypto executives at the White House.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell below $80,000 on Monday and is now down 27% from its all-time high above $109,000 the day of Trump’s inauguration in January.
Other digital assets beyond bitcoin also fell Monday, including ethereum (ETH) and XRP (XRP).
Trump’s pro-crypto stance was enough to lift digital assets higher in the period after his November election due to widespread optimism about a more favorable approach to the industry in Washington, D.C.
But that pro-crypto stance is no longer enough to overcome a variety of other economic worries, including growing concerns about the US economy and Trump’s unpredictable trade policy.
“While the early parts of the crypto sell-off in January and early February had nothing to do with the global macro picture, the last two weeks have 100% been driven by the equity market tantrum,” Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer for crypto asset manager Arca, said in a Monday note.
There was also some disappointment within the crypto industry about Trump’s bitcoin reserve announcement last week. Some were hoping the government would make it clear that it would be buying more digital assets, as opposed to simply seeding the stockpile with crypto already seized in legal proceedings.
“The market reaction reflects a reset in expectations,” Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer for crypto exchange OKX, said via email.
While Rafique said he considers the reserve a “milestone” that “cements bitcoin’s legitimacy on the global stage,” he pointed out that the order won’t immediately drive more demand for the world’s largest cryptocurrency — thus “disappointing those expecting aggressive accumulation” by the US government.
Monday’s move down was the latest example of how bitcoin’s price has whipsawed in recent weeks as it experienced its worst correction since a 2022 meltdown.
“Crypto is still a risk asset, and also it needs more liquidity,” MarketVector’s Martin Leinweber told Yahoo Finance last week.
The bitcoin strategic reserve announced last week was one of Trump’s biggest promises to the crypto world, something he touted while on the campaign trail last year while pledging to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Trump’s crypto czar David Sacks said on X that the US government owns an estimated 200,000 bitcoins worth over $17 billion after selling off about half of what it acquired through criminal seizures, although he said there has never been a complete audit.
