Bitcoin fell more than 5% on Tuesday to below $63,000 as investors continued to grapple with escalating tariff tensions and broader geopolitical risks.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell to $62,964.64 following pressure from investors to move away from risky assets. Bitcoin pared some of its losses and was trading 1.5% lower at $63,290 at 5:58 a.m. ET.
“Bitcoin’s decline appears to be more of a classic risk sentiment reset than a crypto-specific shock,” said Christopher Hamilton, head of client investment solutions for Asia Pacific ex-Japan at Invesco.
Hamilton added that the sharp decline likely reflected “tactical risk aversion” rather than a structural exit.
US President Donald Trump said last week that he would decide “probably in the next 10 days” whether to launch an attack on Iran as it resists a new nuclear deal.
Since then, the US government has continued to deploy military assets across the Middle East, and tensions have escalated.
Bitcoin has been in a steep decline since reaching over $125,000 in October last year, and that decline has continued into the new year. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is down 27% so far this year and 50% from its October high.
“The bigger point is that Bitcoin remains very sensitive to global liquidity conditions. If markets interpret trade policy as tightening financial conditions, cryptocurrencies will be the first to feel it,” said Billy Leung, investment strategist at GlobalX Australia.
Spot gold fell about 1.1% on Tuesday to $5,172 an ounce. etherthe second most popular cryptocurrency, fell 1.6% to $1,826.
