Bitcoin Drops Below $90K as Risk-Off Sentiment Sweeps Markets

Bitcoin fell below $90,000 on Tuesday as traders sold off risk assets amid turmoil in Japan’s government bond market and renewed U.S. tariff threats against Europe. Ether (ETH) also slid below $3,000, down more than 6% in 24 hours—the lowest level since early January.

The decline erased much of Bitcoin’s 2026 gains. BTC touched $88,400 at one point, while the CoinDesk 20 Index dropped over 5%. Bitcoin’s market dominance climbed to 59.8%, reflecting widespread altcoin weakness.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt flagged a potential drop to $58,000–$62,000 within two weeks, while options data shows roughly a 30% chance Bitcoin could fall below $80,000 by June.

Crypto equities also suffered: Strategy (MSTR) fell 7.8%, BitMine Immersion (BMNR) 9.5%, Coinbase (COIN) 5.5%, and Circle (CRCL) 7.5%. Privacy coins Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) tumbled 11.6% and 8%, while DeFi protocols remained resilient.

Global markets mirrored the risk-off mood: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, Nasdaq 100 fell nearly 2%, Nikkei 2.5%, and Germany’s DAX 1%. Gold and silver surged 3% and 7% to record highs as safe-haven assets.

Trading data showed $486 million in long positions liquidated on Tuesday. Bitcoin derivatives’ open interest rose slightly, indicating shorting, while Ether’s open interest fell, pointing to spot-market selling.

Despite the broad selloff, some tokens outperformed: Canton Network (CC) gained 18%, ARC jumped 30%, and Pumpfun (PUMP) rose 4%. Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk’s parent company, traded up over 1%.