(Bloomberg) — Bitcoin fell sharply in early Saturday afternoon trading in New York, tumbling below $80,000 to hit the lowest levels since April 2025 amid a broader retreat for digital assets.
The decline came amid thin liquidity and limited buying interest, deepening a drawdown that has erased more than 30% from the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin fell as much as 7.1% to $78,159.41 at midday during New York trading hours Saturday, while other tokens posted steeper losses. Ether, the second-largest digital asset, shed more than 10%, while Solana fell over 11%.
The selloff knocked about $111 billion off the crypto market’s total value in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. About $1.6 billion in short and long positions were liquidated in the same timeframe, according to market tracker Coinglass — much of which occurred in the last four hours, mainly around Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The retreat — recalling levels hit in the aftermath of the “Liberation Day” fallout – a adds to weeks of macro disappointment for Bitcoin, which has failed to respond to a series of market developments that previously would have supported the asset. The dollar weakened for much of January as investors grow increasingly wary of policy risks posed by the Trump administration, but the move did little to lift sentiment in crypto markets.
Likewise, Bitcoin offered no meaningful response during gold’s rally to record highs — nor has it attracted inflows in the wake of gold and silver’s sharp reversal on Friday. Delay in new US market-structure regulations for the crypto sector has also undermined appetite for digital assets.
“Silver and gold have become the vehicle for investors concerned about fiat currencies,” said Louis Navellier at Navellier & Associates.
That absence of bid has raised fresh questions over Bitcoin’s role in broader portfolios. Once pitched as both a momentum play and a hedge against monetary debasement, the token is now struggling to serve either function. Spot ETF outflows have persisted, geopolitical risks have not triggered demand, and traditional safe-haven flows remain concentrated in metals and cash.
Bitcoin’s price may also be impacted by the rising tensions between Israel and Iran. Iran’s army chief renewed warnings that Tehran could strike Israel, just as Donald Trump threatens potential US military strikes against the Islamic Republic.
“The levels right now are reading in pretty extreme disinterest” from retail investors, said Needham analyst John Todaro, adding trading volumes may remain depressed for “another quarter or two.”
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