New York, Jan 20, 2026, 17:22 EST — After-hours
Bitcoin slipped below $90,000 on Tuesday, hitting a low near $89,278 before settling around $89,601, down about 3.2%. 1
The move was significant as bitcoin once more behaved like a risk asset, even while investors sought refuge in traditional safe havens. “Bitcoin isn’t quite doing the thing that it’s built to do, at least in real time,” Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, told Investopedia. 2
Policy jitters hit the market as U.S. investors came back from a long weekend and dumped shares following President Donald Trump’s threat of new tariffs involving Greenland. According to Reuters, these duties are set to begin Feb. 1 and could increase again on June 1 if no agreement is struck. 3
Gold extended gains, climbing near a fresh record amid growing risk aversion. Spot gold touched about $4,757 an ounce, earlier hitting a peak above $4,765, Reuters reported. “Gold has surged deeper into uncharted territory as investors hedge against rising political risk,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com. 4
Ether dropped sharply, losing around 6.1% to hit about $2,994, based on data from Investing.com. 5
Selling persisted even as a key corporate bitcoin buyer kept piling in. Strategy reportedly acquired roughly $2.13 billion in bitcoin over the past eight days, funding the purchases through an at-the-market share sale program, according to Reuters. Despite the buys, its stock dropped about 7.4%. Nic Puckrin, an analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau, said, “Strategy is still buying Bitcoin because stopping would be as much a signal to the market as purchasing more.” 6
The downside is clear: Should tariff threats turn into reality and equity volatility stay high, bitcoin might stay tied to the overall risk sentiment and could dip back to — or even below — Tuesday’s lows.
Traders are shifting focus to the next policy signals from Europe and Washington. EU leaders plan an emergency summit in Brussels Thursday to consider possible actions, including tariffs on U.S. imports, Reuters reported. 7
