Bitcoin Slips Below $86,000 as Selling Pressure Persists Near Yearly Lows

Key Points

Bitcoin fell below $86,000 on Monday for the first time in two weeks, extending a slide that has pushed the cryptocurrency closer to its lowest levels of the year.

The world’s largest digital asset dropped as much as 3.7% to $85,171 before recovering modestly during Asian trading on Tuesday. Prices later slipped again to around $85,575 in Hong Kong. Bitcoin is now down roughly 30% from its record high above $126,000 reached in early October.

Market participants said selling has continued to emerge near the upper end of Bitcoin’s recent range, particularly from investors who bought near the peak and are using any rebound to exit positions. That has kept the token confined to a broad band between roughly $85,000 and $94,000.

Trading activity has remained subdued across crypto markets. Volumes have stayed low, and price moves have lacked follow-through, according to derivatives data.

Bitcoin’s weakness has also stood out relative to other risk assets. While stocks and bonds have shown intermittent rebounds in recent weeks, Bitcoin has failed to participate, breaking its typical tendency to move higher alongside broader markets. Traders pointed to thin liquidity and reduced appetite for risk, even after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week.

The broader macro backdrop remains uncertain. The final full trading week of 2025 opened with uneven moves in equities, bonds, and currencies as investors awaited economic data expected to influence the Fed’s next policy decisions.

Unlike previous selloffs, Bitcoin’s latest decline has not been driven by large-scale forced liquidations. Instead, market participants said positioning in spot and derivatives markets has played a larger role. Liquidation data suggests many overleveraged trades were already unwound earlier, leaving selling that is slower but more persistent.

One notable exception to the broader retreat has been Strategy Inc., the Bitcoin-focused treasury company formerly known as MicroStrategy. The firm disclosed on Monday that it purchased nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin for a second straight week.

Most of the purchases were funded through at-the-market sales of the company’s Class A common stock, along with sales of three of its four classes of perpetual preferred shares. Critics of the strategy have warned that repeated equity issuance could dilute existing shareholders and reduce the premium at which the stock trades relative to its Bitcoin holdings, now valued at roughly $59 billion.

Losses extended beyond Bitcoin. Ether, Dogecoin, and XRP each fell about 5% on Monday, while shares of crypto-related companies also declined. Strategy shares dropped more than 9% at one point, and Coinbase Global fell around 7%.

Despite the absence of widespread forced selling in Bitcoin, the broader market downturn triggered liquidations of approximately $520 million in bullish positions across all cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.

Bitcoin last touched a low for 2025 in April, when prices fell to around $74,400 after President Donald Trump’s initial tariff proposals disrupted global financial markets.

Also Read: Bitcoin Could Reach Multi-Million Levels in 15 Years — How Much Would You Need to Retire?