New York, February 1, 2026, 12:29 EST — Market closed.
- Bitcoin stayed under pressure in weekend trade after slipping below $80,000 late last week.
- Traders are fixated on U.S. monetary-policy signals and what they mean for liquidity.
- U.S. data and central bank communications are next tests for sentiment.
Bitcoin fell 1.8% over the last 24 hours to $77,511.80 on Sunday, as weekend trading kept the market pinned near levels last seen in late November. CoinMarketCap showed about $65.0 billion of bitcoin trading volume over the past day. (CoinMarketCap)
The slide leaves crypto exposed going into Monday’s reopen for U.S. risk assets, after two sessions of sharp selling. Bitcoin is down about 8% since Jan. 30 and swung between roughly $76,873.6 and $79,355.0 on Sunday, according to Investing.com data. (Investing)
Traders have tied the move to Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May. Bitcoin was down 6.5% at $78,719.63 by 12:48 p.m. ET on Saturday; ether fell 11.76% to $2,387.77. “Sometimes these price adjustments feed on themselves,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. (Reuters)
Friday’s selling had already pulled bitcoin to $82,300, setting it up for a fourth straight monthly drop — its longest losing streak in eight years. “As you start to talk about pulling the rug out… gold, crypto… start to sell,” said Damien Boey, a portfolio strategist at Wilson Asset Management. Sean Dawson at Derive.xyz also flagged “fears around AI exuberance” after a 10% slide in Microsoft shares rippled through broader markets. (Reuters)
Washington is another overhang. A vote in the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a bill that would put spot crypto markets — direct coin trading, not derivatives — under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but the push still lacks the Democratic support it needs. Cory Booker said lawmakers were “almost in the red zone” as negotiations drag on. (Reuters)
The Warsh nomination itself may not be smooth. Trump said Warsh could pick up Democratic votes, even as Thom Tillis threatened to block the process pending a U.S. Justice Department inquiry tied to Powell. For crypto traders, it adds another layer of guesswork around rates and liquidity. (Reuters)
But this is a two-way market. If equities calm down and the dollar softens when Wall Street reopens, bitcoin can bounce fast on short covering and bargain hunting. The risk is the opposite: a clean break below weekend lows could drag more forced selling into thin books.
Next week’s calendar gives investors plenty to lean on. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to publish the Employment Situation report for January on Friday, Feb. 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the Jan. 27-28 meeting are scheduled for Feb. 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The first hard test comes on Feb. 6, when U.S. jobs data hits a market already jumpy about how much liquidity the system can spare.
