Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell over 16% in February, marking the cryptocurrency’s worst monthly performance since June 2022.
Bitcoin dropped as much as 5% Friday and traded below $80,000 for the first time this year before paring losses. Even with the cryptocurrency’s rebound to around the $84,000 level Friday afternoon, bitcoin stood at its lowest since early November.
Friday’s decline came a day after President Donald Trump said 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, are set to go into effect March 4.
As of 7:30:00 AM UTC. Market Open.
Nic Puckrin, financial analyst and founder of the Coin Bureau, said in an email to Yahoo Finance earlier this week that the “sharp sell-off in crypto on renewed tariff fears shows that Bitcoin, and even altcoins, are now entirely driven by politics.”
“This was never the intention for Bitcoin — indeed, it was designed as an anti-political asset — but this is where we are right now.”
Bitcoin has rallied since the election of Donald Trump, soaring 44% from Election Day in November to a high of $109,115 on Jan. 19.
Investors have been optimistic about the president’s crypto-friendly stances creating a looser regulatory environment for the industry than the prior administration. Trump has appointed venture capitalist David Sacks to a newly created White House role of crypto czar, and his pick for SEC chair is well-known crypto lawyer Paul Atkins.
But recent losses have partly erased those gains as the so-called Trump trade loses steam. Macroeconomic uncertainty and a $1.5 billion crypto exchange hack have contributed to the pullback among investors.
Puckrin said in his commentary on Feb. 25, “If worries over tariffs continue to escalate, bitcoin could continue falling further in the short term,” adding, “A key support level to watch would then be $71,000.”
Meanwhile, other crypto stocks rallied Friday.
Coinbase (COIN) jumped 3.5%, and Riot Platforms (RIOT) rose more than 7%. Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, climbed over 6%, as each erased losses from earlier in the session.
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @laurabratton.bsky.social. Email her at laura.bratton@yahooinc.com.
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