New York, Jan 8, 2026, 06:23 EST — Premarket
Bitcoin fell below $91,000 on Thursday as investors stepped back from riskier bets after a brisk start to the year.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was down 2.4% at $90,589 by 6:23 a.m. EST, while ether slid about 4% and XRP dropped more than 6%, Coinbase data showed. 1
The pullback lands as traders brace for Friday’s U.S. payrolls report, a release that can swing expectations for where interest rates settle next. U.S. stock index futures also edged lower in premarket trade, underlining a cautious tone across markets. 2
Flows were also a drag. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds — funds that hold bitcoin directly — saw net outflows of $486.1 million on Wednesday after $243.2 million of redemptions on Tuesday, according to Farside Investors data, with withdrawals led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. 3
Crypto-linked stocks stayed sensitive to the tape. Strategy, a major corporate holder of bitcoin, rose 3.2% in early trade on Wednesday after MSCI shelved a plan to exclude “digital asset treasury companies” from its indexes; Clear Street analyst Owen Lau said the decision “removes a material near-term technical risk” for equities that trade as proxies for bitcoin exposure. 4
Bitcoin had pushed toward $95,000 earlier in the week — its highest since November — before fading back toward the $90,000 handle, a level many traders treat as a psychological support point when momentum turns choppy. 5
Even after this week’s pop and pullback, bitcoin remains well below its October peak above $126,000, a reminder of how quickly the asset can swing with broader risk appetite. 6
But the setup cuts both ways. A stronger-than-expected payrolls print could curb bets on rate cuts and pressure bitcoin again, while another run of ETF redemptions would keep demand fragile.
