Bitcoin Hits Lowest Level Since 2025 Tariff Shock
Synopsis
Bitcoin suffered a weekend sell-off, tumbling through the crucial $80,000 mark for the first time in months. The sudden drop caused close to $5 billion in liquidations across the crypto markets, taking down high-profile tokens, including Ether and Solana. As institutional ETF demand cools and long-term holders book profits, analysts are warning of a “crisis of confidence.” This article discusses the difficulty in finding a floor to the Bitcoin price, and what it shows about a lack of new money circling the digital asset market.
NEW YORK – The largest digital currency is suffering further pain over the weekend, after Bitcoin's price crashed through one of its key support levels on Saturday, January 31, 2026. This precipitous fall is a huge change in sentiment in the market and brings it close to levels it hasn’t been since April 2025. At the height of the selloff, Bitcoin fell by as much as 10% to a low of around $75,710, causing some investors to wonder if the long-standing bull market may have finally fizzled.
The collapse was not confined to Bitcoin; it echoed across the wider crypto markets. Bigger digital assets like Ether and Solana saw even larger losses; both fell more than 17 per cent in a few hours. An investor stampede to sell off the shares delivered a swift 52 per cent loss in the stock, vaporising about $111 billion worth of combined market value and pushing 1.6 billion dollars in leveraged trading positions into collapse.
Now that Bitcoin is trading below the level at which many deep-pocketed investors bought it, is a sustained period of so-called “bear” market activity ahead?
Slumping Demand and the “Flatlined” Capital Question
There is no fresh money coming into the system either, experts said they believe that’s a key reason for the decline. Ki Young Ju, the chief executive of the data firm CryptoQuant, noted that the new cash on-ramp into Bitcoin has essentially “flatlined.” In other words, though people are selling to cash in on their profits, not enough new buyers are emerging to support the price.
Giant “Spot ETFs”, funds that let regular folks buy Bitcoin through their stock accounts — propped up prices at or near record highs for most of 2025. But that buying spree has cooled sharply. Without that steady flow of institutional cash, the crypto markets are far more vulnerable to selling pressure from LTCM’s long-term holders who’ve been poised for their moment to take profits.
MicroStrategy, and the Risks to Large Holders
Even so, Strategy Inc., Michael Saylor’s company (who is one of the biggest names in the Bitcoin world), is also under scrutiny. The company holds more than 700,000 Bitcoins, which makes it the largest corporate holder in the world. Once the price fell below $76,000, it briefly dipped below the company’s average “cost basis”, how much they paid for their coins on average.
This doesn’t mean the company is now in immediate financial jeopardy, but it does create a crisis of confidence for investors who follow Saylor’s lead. Analysts point out that so long as large firms like this do not start selling their investments, a total market collapse is unlikely. But if the price remains “underwater” for too long, he added, it could also discourage new companies from wanting in on that market.
Why The Usual “Safety Nets” Didn’t Save The Price
In the past, Bitcoin had often behaved like “digital gold,” gaining in value when the U.S. dollar depreciated or geopolitical tensions rose. But those old rules appeared not to apply during this latest decline. Although in January the dollar weakened and gold reached record prices, the value of Bitcoin did not rise but remained flat or even went down.
The disjunction suggests that investors are beginning to consider Bitcoin more as a “risk asset” — alongside high technology stocks, say, rather than a haven. As new U.S. regulations for the crypto business face delays and tariffs spill uncertainty into global trade, many investors have decided to clam up in search of security back in traditional assets such as gold and silver as opposed to digital tokens.
What’s Next for Digital Currencies?
Few analysts anticipate a rapid “V-shaped” recovery in which the price quickly rebounds to $100,000. Instead, they anticipate an extended period of “sideways” trading, when the price ranges as the market resets. This “boring” period is often an unavoidable by-product to flush through the excesses of gambling and creating a more solid base going forward.
For the everyday person, a descent below $80,000 is a harsh reminder of just how volatile the world of digital money can be. The long-term technology of Bitcoin remains the same, the short-term price is fighting an uphill battle with a general disinterest, and more of an overall “cooling off” of the entire sector.
Key Highlights
• The Crash: The price of Bitcoin has dropped below $80,000 for the first time since April 2025.
• Market Losses: More than $111 billion, the total value of crypto markets, disappeared in a span of 24 hours.
• Dozens of traders lost a combined $1.6 billion as their bets were forcibly closed amid the price plunge.
• Capital flight: On-chain data indicates that no new money is being invested in the asset.
• Institutional Risk: Prices dipped below the average cost for heavy-hitter corporate holders such as Strategy Inc.
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At Inspirepreneurs Magazine, covering entrepreneurship, business failures, and the human stories behind the world's most ambitious founders. She writes at the intersection of strategy and storytelling.
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