Daijiworld Media Network - Singapore
Singapore, Nov 17: Just over a month after hitting an all-time high, Bitcoin has wiped out its 30% gains for the year as excitement over the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance fades.
The cryptocurrency fell below $93,714 on Sunday, dipping under last year’s closing levels. Bitcoin had surged to a record $126,251 on October 6, only to start tumbling days later after unexpected tariff comments from President Donald Trump rattled markets globally. As of 8:39 a.m. on Monday in Singapore, Bitcoin traded at $94,869.
“The general market is risk-off,” said Matthew Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management. “Crypto was the canary in the coal mine—it was the first to flinch.”
Institutional investors, who have been a major driver of Bitcoin’s legitimacy, have recently stepped back, reducing the flow-driven support that pushed prices to record highs earlier this year. ETFs alone absorbed over $25 billion, at one point driving assets to roughly $169 billion. But with waning institutional appetite and cooling tech stocks, overall risk appetite has dropped.
“The selloff is a confluence of profit-taking by long-term holders, institutional outflows, macro uncertainty, and leveraged positions getting wiped out,” said Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen.
Even high-profile corporate Bitcoin holders are seeing a shift. Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc., once the poster child for corporate crypto adoption, now trades near parity with its Bitcoin holdings, signaling investor caution.
Bitcoin’s rollercoaster this year has seen it fall as low as $74,400 in April amid tariff news, surge to record highs in October, and now retreat once more. Smaller, less liquid tokens have been hit even harder, with some down as much as 60% in 2025.
“The sentiment in crypto retail is negative,” Hougan added, noting that fear of another major pullback is keeping traders on the sidelines. Analysts say recovery will require consistent upward momentum to regain confidence among major players.