Bitcoin slid sharply on Saturday, dropping below $80,000 to its lowest level since April 2025 as digital assets sold off broadly.
The decline came amid thin liquidity and weak buying interest, deepening a downturn that has wiped out more than 30% of Bitcoin’s value from recent highs.
Bitcoin fell as much as 10% to $75,709.88 during New York afternoon trading. Losses were even steeper across other major tokens. Ether dropped as much as 17%, while Solana at one point fell more than 17%.
The selloff erased roughly $111 billion from the total crypto market value over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. During the same period, about $1.6 billion in long and short positions were liquidated, data from Coinglass shows, with most of the activity occurring in the final four hours and concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The pullback — which echoes price levels seen after the “Liberation Day” fallout — adds to weeks of disappointment for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has failed to benefit from developments that previously would have supported prices. While the U.S. dollar weakened for much of January amid investor concerns over policy risks linked to the Trump administration, the move provided little boost to crypto markets.
Bitcoin also showed little reaction to gold’s rally to record highs and has not attracted inflows following gold and silver’s sharp reversal on Friday. Delays in new U.S. crypto market-structure regulations have further dampened investor appetite.
“Silver and gold have become the vehicle for investors concerned about fiat currencies,” said Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates.
The lack of buying interest has renewed questions about Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios. Once promoted as both a momentum trade and a hedge against monetary debasement, the asset is now struggling to fill either role. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen continued outflows, geopolitical tensions have failed to drive demand, and traditional safe-haven flows remain concentrated in metals and cash.
Rising tensions in the Middle East may also be weighing on prices. Iran’s military leadership has renewed warnings of potential strikes against Israel, while Donald Trump has raised the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran.
“Current levels suggest extremely low retail investor interest,” said John Todaro, an analyst at Needham, adding that trading volumes could remain subdued for “another quarter or two.”