The world’s most popular cryptocurrency has lost nearly 20% in value since the beginning of 2026.
Published February 5, 2026
Bitcoin fell below $71,000, extending its weekly losses and erasing all gains since US President Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election.
The world’s most popular cryptocurrency fell more than 7% on Thursday, continuing a sharp decline that began in mid-January.
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Bitcoin, which is famous for its wild price fluctuations, was trading at about $70,900 as of 4:30 p.m. Japan time.
The latest slide shows that the value of digital assets has fallen by nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the year.
Bitcoin reached $100,000 for the first time in December 2024, and again exceeded that level in February and May 2025. However, Bitcoin has mostly been on a downward trend since hitting an all-time high of more than $127,000 in October.
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have exploded following President Trump’s re-election, raising hopes that Washington will take a more relaxed approach to regulating digital assets after years of regulatory crackdowns.
Trump promised to turn the United States into the crypto capital of the world during his re-election campaign, and before winning the vote, he and his sons started his own cryptocurrency company, World Liberty Financial.
Immediately after taking office, President Trump announced the creation of a Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve that includes Bitcoin and four other cryptocurrencies.
But a bill backed by President Trump to regulate crypto trading has stalled in the Senate due to disagreements between banks and crypto companies, raising questions for the industry.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said Wednesday he would investigate World Liberty Financial after the Wall Street Journal reported that representatives of Abu Dhabi officials signed a $500 million deal to buy a 49% stake in President Trump’s emerging cryptocurrency venture.
Stock and commodity markets also suffered losses on Thursday, with silver falling by as much as 16% and Hong Kong and Japan’s benchmark stock indexes down about 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
