Bitcoin entered 2026 in negative territory, and President Donald Trump’s conciliatory Greenland remarks in Davos were not enough to reverse the selling pressure in the markets.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell below $87,500 during US trading, marking its first year-to-date negative performance. BTC lost approximately 3% in the last 24 hours, although it briefly climbed back above $90,000 during the day.
This recovery came after Donald Trump, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stated that the US had no intention of taking Greenland by force and gave optimistic messages that legislation regarding the structure of the crypto market would eventually be passed. However, these statements were not enough to stop the sell-off.
Behind the weakness in the markets lies escalating tensions between the US and its European allies over the future of Greenland, and yesterday’s sharp drop in the Japanese government bond market. These developments led to widespread selling in risky assets, including cryptocurrencies. While Japanese bonds and stocks showed a limited recovery today, the effects of the shock continue to be felt in the global financial system.
According to the data, Bitcoin was trading around $87,800 at the time of writing, with a weekly loss exceeding 9%. While a general downward trend was observed across the market, Ethereum fell by over 3% to around $2,900. Similar losses were seen in most major altcoins.
Increased volatility has also led to sharp liquidations in derivatives markets. The total amount of liquidations recorded in the last 24 hours was approximately $839 million, with the majority consisting of long positions.
*This is not investment advice.