For the first time in over three months, Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Friday as a sell-off in the cryptocurrency space accelerated due to market uncertainty worldwide.
Early Asian trading saw the digital unit drop as low as $79,525.88, which was its lowest since November 11 and a significant decline from the record high of over $109,000 that was reached just last month.
Following Donald Trump’s election victory in November, the unit witnessed an electrifying rally after he made campaign promises to liberalize rules pertaining to digital tokens and to establish the US as the global hub for cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin’s rise was consistent with worldwide market gains, but the excitement has subsided in recent weeks as the US president has imposed tariffs on allies and threatened to start a global trade war.
His promises to cut immigration and taxes have also stoked worries that he would rekindle inflation, which would force the Fed to maintain interest rates higher than anticipated for a longer period of time, even as new data shows the US economy is slowing.
