Singapore, Jan 21, 2026, 20:08 SGT
- Bitcoin dropped beneath $90,000, a threshold investors have eyed closely throughout this year
- The decline followed a broader risk-off shift hitting both stocks and government bonds
- Smaller tokens and crypto-related stocks also fell, adding to the downward momentum
Bitcoin dropped under $90,000 for the first time since Jan. 9, hitting $88,894 by 9:27 a.m. in Singapore. The move echoed selloffs in stocks, long-term Treasuries, and Japanese bonds amid heightened volatility in debt markets.
The shift is significant because the sell-off hasn’t been confined to a single market. U.S. stocks experienced their sharpest one-day decline in three months on Tuesday. Bitcoin tumbled over 3% as investors dialed back risk appetite following President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats linked to his Greenland ambitions.
In crypto circles, $90,000 isn’t just a number. Karim Dandashy, an OTC trader at Flowdesk, called it a “critical” support level that’s held since early January. Meanwhile, ether tumbled more than 7%, Solana dropped 5.3%, Coinbase lost 5.6%, and Strategy plunged nearly 8%, according to The Business Times. The report also noted Strategy snapped up about $2.13 billion in bitcoin over the past eight days, while U.S.-listed bitcoin ETFs have attracted roughly $1.2 billion so far this year. The Business Times
Bitcoin slid to $89,929 Tuesday, then bounced back to $90,535, according to Yahoo Finance. Trading volume climbed 14%.
Bitcoin dipped below $91,000 early in European trading before finding some footing, while ethereum dropped 3.4% to $3,112, according to Barron’s. The decline comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Europe.
Long-dated Treasuries—U.S. government bonds with extended maturities—can move sharply when investors quickly reassess inflation, growth, or policy risk. Sudden yield jumps and rising volatility often push money out of riskier assets, and for many funds, crypto remains squarely in that category.
The recent drop has reignited a familiar debate: is bitcoin a hedge, or just another risk asset that tanks when jitters hit? “Bitcoin isn’t quite doing the thing that it’s built to do, at least in real time,” said Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital. Meanwhile, Bitunix analyst Dean Chen told Investopedia that bitcoin is “living in a split narrative” between crypto-native buyers and the wider market.
At Davos, SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci called bitcoin’s recent slump “more of a timing issue than a direction issue,” expressing hopes it rebounds to somewhere between $125,000 and $150,000. He flagged the brutal downside volatility, recalling last year’s plunge after bitcoin peaked above $126,000 in October 2025, which wiped out over $19 billion in leveraged positions—traders forced to liquidate when margin calls couldn’t be met. Reuters
The road ahead isn’t straightforward. Should bond-market turmoil worsen and stocks continue to slide, key round-number marks like $90,000 could act as tripwires, forcing leveraged traders to exit and dragging prices down in sharp, brief moves. On the other hand, if yields stabilize and tariff news fades, bitcoin could rebound just as fast — it’s happened before, typically when macro traders ease off the sell pressure simultaneously.
At the moment, bitcoin’s price is reacting more to factors outside the crypto sphere—like government bonds, geopolitical events, and upcoming policy announcements. That’s leaving the market uneasy, and what looked like strong “support” levels just a week ago now seem far less reliable.
