Bitcoin briefly dived below the $73,000 mark on Tuesday, hitting its lowest price in nearly 16 months.
The world’s oldest cryptocurrency sank as low as $72,884.38, falling more than 6% on the day. That’s its lowest level since Nov. 6, 2024, when the token traded at $68,898.
Bitcoin was last down more than 3% at $75,658.95 around 5:25 p.m. ET.
Strategy, a bitcoin treasury firm, ended the trading session down more than 4%.
Bitcoin performance over the past year.
Bitcoin has fallen 16% year to date as investors have continued to rotate out of risk-on assets amid growing geopolitical concerns. Those losses mounted this week as the release of crucial U.S. economic data was delayed due to a partial government shutdown.
Adding to the investors’ jitters is ongoing uncertainty around lawmakers’ efforts to create legislative guardrails for the cryptocurrency industry, in addition to liquidation overhang in the digital assets market, Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly Capital told CNBC.
“BTC’s pullback doesn’t appear driven by any single factor,” Hadick said. “Crypto and bitcoin prices have always been volatile and this market is no different.”
He noted that fundamentals for the crypto market remain strong, particularly as stablecoins and tokenized assets continue to gain traction with retail and institutional investors.
“We expect the medium and long-term outlook to remain constructive as markets continue to restructure themselves,” Hadick added.