Bitcoin erases gains from past year

Euphoria over Trump support starts to fade

- OLGA KHARIF DAVID PAN

A woman uses a cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong last year.

(AFP)

Just a little more than a month after reaching an all-time high, Bitcoin has erased the more than 30% gain registered since the start of the year as the exuberance over the pro-crypto stance of the Trump administration fades.

The dominant cryptocurrency fell below $93,714 on Sunday, pushing the price beneath the closing level reached at the end of last year, when financial markets were rallying following President Donald Trump's election victory. Bitcoin soared to a record $126,251 on Oct 6, only to begin tumbling four days later after unexpected comments on tariffs by Trump sent markets into a tailspin worldwide.

The token pared losses to trade at $94,869 as of 8:39 am yesterday in Singapore.

"The general market is risk-off," said Matthew Hougan, the San Francisco-based chief investment officer for Bitwise Asset Management. "Crypto was the canary in the coal mine for that, it was the first to flinch."