The value of bitcoin continued its declining trend on Thursday, sliding by approximately 11% to trade near $67,000. This drop brings the cryptocurrency to a level lower than it held immediately following President Donald Trump's re-election in 2024.
Once lauded as "digital gold," bitcoin has experienced a substantial decrease, shedding almost 50% of its market value since reaching an all-time peak of $126,210.50 on October 6, according to data from Coinbase. As of 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, bitcoin was trading around $66,301.
After the November 2024 election that returned Trump to the presidency, bitcoin prices saw a sustained upward movement, buoyed partly by investor optimism about a potentially more cryptocurrency-friendly regulatory environment in Washington. However, these earlier gains have now been effectively wiped out.
The recent downward pressure on bitcoin appears to result from a mix of factors. These include investors retreating from speculative assets such as gold, silver, and digital currencies, in addition to ongoing concerns about the direction of cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S., despite the Trump administration's previously expressed support for the crypto industry.
Earlier this week, the White House convened a forum including banks and cryptocurrency firms to explore possibilities for agreement on forthcoming legislation aimed at regulating stablecoins. The discussions focused in part on whether cryptocurrency depositors should be able to earn payments for holding their deposits in crypto or stablecoins, a prospect that faces opposition from traditional banks concerned about potential outflows from the conventional banking system.
Currently, progress on this legislative front appears stalled, with little movement expected in Congress regarding stablecoin regulation.
Publicly traded companies involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining have also endured significant losses amid the sell-off. Coinbase Global's shares declined by 9.1%, while Robinhood Markets, an online trading platform, dropped 8.1%. Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining enterprise, saw its stock fall 10%.
Strategy, a major crypto treasury firm primarily engaged in acquiring bitcoin, decreased 13%. Previously known as MicroStrategy, the company reports owning 713,502 bitcoin. Given an average acquisition cost exceeding $76,000 per bitcoin, Strategy currently holds an underwater position on its investment. On Thursday morning, the market value of its bitcoin reserves was estimated at about $47.8 billion, below the $54.3 billion cost basis cited on the company's website.
Altogether, these developments reflect increased market volatility and pressure within the crypto sector.
Assets connected to former President Trump and his family members have similarly been affected. American Bitcoin, where Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have ownership stakes, fell by 6.6% and is now trading over 80% lower than its peak on October 7.
Other Trump-affiliated crypto projects have similarly seen value reductions. The market capitalization of the World Liberty Financial token, known as $WLFI, has declined substantially from more than $6 billion in mid-September to roughly $3.25 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com. Likewise, a meme cryptocurrency endorsed by President Trump called $TRUMP currently trades around $3.93, a sharp decline from an asking price near $45 before the inauguration in January.