NEW YORK, Feb 3, 2026, 14:29 (EST)
- Bitcoin dropped to its lowest point since Donald Trump won the election, deepening a slide that’s now dragged on for almost four months.
- A quiet weekend selloff wiped roughly $290 billion off the crypto market’s value.
- Recent figures revealed roughly $2.56 billion worth of bitcoin positions have been liquidated.
Bitcoin sank to its lowest price since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, tumbling below pre-election rally levels amid renewed selling pressure. Bloomberg noted the cryptocurrency slid as much as 6% to roughly $73,762 on Tuesday, marking a drop of over 15% so far this year.
The decline follows a brutal weekend selloff that erased about $290 billion from the total crypto market cap, spilling over into broader “risk-off” moves in stocks and precious metals. Weekend crypto trading tends to be volatile, with thinner liquidity letting large orders swing prices more dramatically. Yahoo Finance MEXC
Data from CoinGlass revealed that bitcoin investors faced roughly $2.56 billion in liquidations over the past few days, highlighting strain in leveraged trades. Liquidations occur when traders fail to meet margin calls and their positions are forcibly closed as prices shift unfavorably.
Bitcoin slipped under $75,000 on Monday, dropping back to prices last seen before Trump’s re-election, as stalled U.S. crypto legislation weighed on the market and investors stepped away from riskier bets, according to an AFP report.
Ether, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, took a sharp dive over the weekend, dropping to $2,164, according to a CoinDesk report shared by MEXC. Bitcoin also dipped, briefly touching $74,674 before settling back up, the report noted.
Derivatives markets reflected similar jitters. The report revealed that total crypto futures “open interest” — the value of outstanding bets still open — dropped to roughly $108.94 billion, hitting its lowest point since April. This signals traders are scaling back on leveraged positions.
“What we’ve seen the last few months is … people taking a step back” to reassess risk, said Adam McCarthy, senior research analyst at market data firm Kaiko. Reuters also quoted Bitfinex analysts, who pointed to thin weekend liquidity as a factor that worsened the slide.
The sell-off is linked to a wider pullback from risk assets, with jitters spreading after Microsoft’s earnings fell short, Reuters reported. David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said, “Investors were looking for an excuse to lighten up and they finally got several.”
Safe-haven metals took a hit as well, with CoinDesk highlighting steep drops in gold and silver following recent peaks. “The silver bubble well and truly popped on Friday,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, attributing the decline to rising margin calls and the White House’s choice of Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve.
Politics and regulation continue to play a role. In July, Congress passed a law targeting stablecoins — cryptocurrencies meant to maintain steady value, typically backed by traditional assets — yet the wider crypto legislation called the Clarity Act remains stalled in the Senate, according to the AFP report.
“Expectations for progress on the Clarity Act have fallen short,” said James Butterfill, a researcher at digital asset manager CoinShares, describing the uncertainty as a “headwind” for prices, according to the report.
Trump’s strong links to crypto have sparked conflict-of-interest claims, according to the AFP report. It highlighted his push of personal crypto projects since re-entering office. Bloomberg estimates show his family’s wealth rose by $1.4 billion last year, thanks solely to digital assets. Meanwhile, the $TRUMP coin — which debuted just before his inauguration — has plummeted roughly 90% from its high.
The next move remains uncertain. The CoinDesk report highlighted strong demand for “put” options—those that pay off if prices drop—mostly concentrated around $75,000 and below. Meanwhile, Schwab’s Jim Ferraioli told Reuters the main risks at these levels come from “outside forces,” such as a spike in unemployment or a more severe pullback in the AI trade.
The turnaround has been striking compared to bitcoin’s position just months back. Following Trump’s November 2024 election victory, bitcoin jumped above $100,000 and climbed to an all-time peak near $126,000 before pulling back recently, recent reports show.
