Bitcoin (BTC) Price: Sell Off Continues as Trump Tariff Concerns & ETF Outflows Mount

TLDR:

• Bitcoin plummeted below $84,000, marking a 20% decline since Trump’s inauguration, with $4.9 billion in options set to expire by Friday
• Massive capitulation event occurred with 79,000 BTCs (approximately $1.7 billion) sold at a loss in a single day
• Bitcoin ETFs experienced $2.1 billion in outflows over six days, with $1 billion withdrawn on Tuesday alone
• Market downturn attributed to Trump’s geopolitical stance, inflation concerns, and the recent Bybit Ethereum hack
• Negative funding rates and Coinbase Premium suggest continued bearish sentiment and selling pressure

Bitcoin prices have dropped below the $84,000 mark, erasing gains from the post-election period as investors pull back from crypto markets. The leading cryptocurrency has fallen roughly 20% since President Trump’s January inauguration.

The price dipped as low as $81,000 on Wednesday, hitting a four-month low. This decline comes amid growing concerns about tariff tensions and their impact on markets.

Bitcoin
BTC Price

Data from Deribit, the largest crypto options exchange, shows growing interest in put options with a $70,000 strike price. This represents the second-highest open interest among contracts expiring February 28.

A total of $4.9 billion in open interest is set to expire by Friday, highlighting the scale of market positioning.

Bitcoin’s downturn has been sharp, with around $2 billion in bullish bets liquidated over the past three days according to Coinglass data.

Long positions in perpetual futures contracts, popular with offshore investors seeking leverage, have seen a major decline during this period.

What Caused the Drop?

Chris Newhouse, director of research at Cumberland Labs, points to several factors behind the sell-off.

“Tariff policies are further dampening the outlook, and stubbornly high short-term inflation expectations add to the overall caution,” he noted.

The Bybit Ethereum hack has added to market woes, putting downward pressure not just on Bitcoin but on overall market sentiment.

ETF outflows have accelerated the price drop. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have seen approximately $2.1 billion in outflows over six days.

Tuesday alone saw more than $1 billion withdrawn from spot Bitcoin ETFs. This marked the largest single-day outflow since these funds launched in January last year.

Fidelity Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) were among the hardest hit by withdrawals.

Bohan Jiang of Abra explained the market dynamics: “This is a mix of spot selling and basis unwind. In my view, nearly all of this is from ETF spot outflows from directional traders.”

The selling pressure has been heavy, with CryptoQuant analyst caueconomy highlighting what he called the “largest Bitcoin capitulation” event of 2025.

More than 79,000 BTCs were sold at a loss within a single day, amounting to roughly $1.7 billion in value.

This mass sell-off bears similarities to the capitulation event in August 2024, when Japan’s interest rate hikes triggered global market deleveraging.

That previous capitulation marked a short-term bottom before Bitcoin eventually rallied to $100,000 by December.

Some analysts see the current capitulation as potentially clearing out “weak hands” from the market, which could set the stage for recovery.

However, other market watchers remain cautious about calling a bottom. Analyst Nino points to negative funding rates on derivatives exchanges and a negative Coinbase Premium as ongoing bearish indicators.

When funding rates turn negative, it means futures prices are trading below spot prices, showing an increase in short interest.

The negative Coinbase Premium indicates that selling on that platform has been strong enough to push its spot price lower than other exchanges.

Currently, Bitcoin is attempting to find support around the $84,578 level but has fallen another 4.5% in the last 24 hours.

Ravi Doshi, co-head of markets at crypto prime broker FalconX, summed up the situation: “The crypto market is still in search of a new catalyst to reverse bearish sentiment.”

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