NEW YORK, Feb 3, 2026, 14:05 EST
Bitcoin slid to its lowest level since Donald Trump returned to the White House, extending an almost four-month downturn and wiping out gains since his election victory, Bloomberg News reported. The token fell below $74,424.95 — its lowest level of 2025 — and was down almost 15% for the year.
The drop matters because crypto is still trading like a risk asset, not a shelter. When traders get spooked about U.S. rates, liquidity or policy, leverage tends to unwind fast and price gaps widen.
Some of the selling has been mechanical. When bitcoin breaks key levels, leveraged bets can get closed out by exchanges — “liquidations” — forcing more selling into thin order books.
Bitcoin was last down about 5.6% on the day at roughly $74,300, after swinging between $74,088 and $79,285, Investing.com data showed. The site put bitcoin’s year-to-date fall at about 15%.
That move follows a weekend rout that triggered $2.56 billion in bitcoin liquidations over recent days, according to CoinGlass, after weakness spilled across other risk trades. “People taking a step back while they have to reassess their risk frameworks,” Kaiko analyst Adam McCarthy said, while Trade Nation’s David Morrison said investors were “looking for an excuse to lighten up and they finally got several.” Reuters
Bitcoin steadied a bit after the initial weekend slide, but traders kept pointing to Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve chair as a fresh source of rate nerves. Barron’s also said ethereum and XRP slipped, as investors watched whether bitcoin could claw back above $80,000.
Some analysts are now mapping deeper downside scenarios. Galaxy head of firmwide research Alex Thorn said “Catalysts remain hard to find,” and pointed to long-term technical levels, including the 200-week moving average — a widely watched long-run trend line — around $58,000; he said those levels could become “strong entry points for long-term investors.” Decrypt
At Zacks Investment Research, chief strategist John Blank said the selloff could stretch into what traders call a “crypto winter,” arguing that “Generally speaking, a bitcoin winter is 12 to 18 months long.” “So at $76,000 from $125,000, which was the peak, we can get to 40,000,” he said. Business Insider
The policy backdrop is messy, too. A White House meeting meant to break a months-long stalemate between banks and crypto firms over U.S. digital-asset legislation ended without an agreement, Reuters reported, with one sticking point being whether stablecoin issuers can pay rewards such as interest. “The White House continues to engage in productive conversations,” spokesman Kush Desai said. Reuters
Still, there are two ways this goes differently. If broader markets calm down and bitcoin avoids another forced-liquidation loop, the bounce traders keep calling for can show up quickly. But if leverage keeps coming out and liquidity stays patchy, even small headlines can shove prices into the next technical level.
