Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline early Saturday afternoon in New York, breaking below the $80,000 threshold and falling to its lowest level since April 2025. The drop occurred amid thin liquidity and limited buying interest, further deepening the slump for the world's largest cryptocurrency, which has now fallen more than 30%. During midday trading in New York on Saturday, Bitcoin briefly plunged 7.1% to $78,159.41, while other tokens suffered even steeper losses. Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset, dropped over 10%, and Solana fell more than 11%.

According to data from CoinGecko, the sell-off wiped approximately $111 billion from the total cryptocurrency market capitalization over the past 24 hours. This pullback has intensified weeks of macro disappointment for Bitcoin, which has failed to respond to a series of market dynamics that should have supported the asset. The US dollar weakened for most of January, yet this trend did not boost sentiment in the crypto market. Similarly, Bitcoin showed no substantial reaction even as gold prices surged to record highs. Following a significant retreat in gold and silver prices on Friday, Bitcoin still failed to attract any inflows. The persistent weakness in demand for Bitcoin is raising questions about its role in a broader investment portfolio. Once viewed as a tool for momentum trading and a hedge against currency debasement, Bitcoin is now struggling to fulfill either function. Spot ETFs are seeing continuous outflows, geopolitical risks have not stimulated demand, and traditional safe-haven flows remain concentrated in precious metals and cash.