In February, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) experienced a drop of over 16%, marking its worst monthly performance since June 2022.
On Friday, Bitcoin saw a decline of up to 5%, trading below $80,000 for the first time this year before recovering somewhat. Despite a later rebound to approximately $84,000 on Friday afternoon, it was still at its lowest point since early November.
This decline followed President Donald Trump’s announcement that 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, along with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, would take effect on March 4.
As of 5:42:00 AM UTC. Market Open.
In a recent email to Yahoo Finance, financial analyst Nic Puckrin, founder of the Coin Bureau, noted that the “sharp sell-off in crypto due to renewed tariff fears demonstrates that Bitcoin, along with altcoins, is now fully influenced by political factors.”
“This wasn’t the original goal for Bitcoin — it was meant to be an anti-political asset — yet, here we are,” he added.
Since Donald Trump’s election, Bitcoin has surged, climbing 44% from Election Day in November to a peak of $109,115 on January 19.
Investors have been hopeful that the president’s supportive stance towards cryptocurrencies would foster a less restrictive regulatory environment compared to the previous administration. Trump has appointed venture capitalist David Sacks as the inaugural crypto czar in the White House, alongside his selection of prominent crypto lawyer Paul Atkins for SEC chair.
However, recent downturns have partially wiped out those gains as the momentum from the “Trump trade” fades. Investor concerns are being fueled by macroeconomic unpredictability and a $1.5 billion hack of a cryptocurrency exchange.
In his remarks on February 25, Puckrin expressed, “If tariff concerns persist, Bitcoin could face further declines in the short term,” while pointing out, “A significant support level to monitor would be $71,000.”
In contrast, other cryptocurrency stocks showed gains on Friday.
Coinbase (COIN) surged by 3.5%, while Riot Platforms (RIOT) increased by over 7%. Strategy (MSTR), the leading corporate holder of Bitcoin, jumped more than 6%, as they all recovered from earlier session losses.
Laura Bratton is a journalist for Yahoo Finance. Connect with her on Bluesky @laurabratton.bsky.social. Reach her at [email protected].
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