Bitcoin price dropped to new yearly lows on Tuesday, briefly falling below $73,000 for the first time since November 2024.

According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price touched a low of approximately $72,884 during the session, a level not seen since shortly after the 2024 US presidential election. While it has backpedalled on some of its losses, it remains nearly 40% below its all-time high of $126,080 reached in October 2025.

Bitcoin price has continued its downtrend this week due to a confluence of hawkish macroeconomic shifts, geopolitical tensions, and massive leveraged liquidations.

A hawkish pivot meets global trade tensions

The bellwether has largely been affected by a broader risk-off appetite in the crypto market after U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh is viewed as a hawk who may favor tighter monetary policy and higher interest rates for longer, leading investors to move capital away from risky assets like crypto.

Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran have also pushed investors toward traditional safe-haven assets like gold and silver, which have surged while Bitcoin has failed to act as a digital gold hedge.

Investors are also wary of escalating trade war tensions as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to target global trading allies just weeks after he temporarily paused similar threats on major EU partners. This week, he threatened to hike tariffs on South Korea back to 25% and hit Canada with 50% tariffs over aircraft and China trade disputes.

Such trade war fatigue has essentially forced investors to pull out of Bitcoin and the crypto market in general as they await calmer macroeconomic signals before stepping back in.

Cascading liquidations and institutional cooling period

Over the past week, Bitcoin price has broken below a number of psychological support levels, which has weighed on investor sentiment. Bitcoin’s recent drop below $75,000 has triggered a cascade of forced selling across the crypto market from highly leveraged traders. 

Over $525 million in leveraged long positions were wiped out from the crypto market in the last 24 hours alone, with Bitcoin accounting for $214 million of that total.

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have previously supported Bitcoin’s rally to all-time highs, have failed to generate demand as institutional players have taken a backseat amid market uncertainty and shifting macroeconomic conditions. Data from SoSoValue shows that these investment products have shed over $6 billion over the past three months.

Looming labor data

Investors are also awaiting the release of key U.S. data that could set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s next move regarding interest rates.

This week, the Non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate, scheduled for release on Friday, will be the most closely watched indicators for the broader market. A weaker labor market report is typically viewed as a bullish catalyst for crypto assets because it increases the likelihood of monetary easing.

Besides this, the Initial Jobless Claims data set to be released just a day earlier will also provide fresh insights into the health of the workforce. Lower than expected claims typically boost the U.S. Dollar, which can create headwinds for crypto prices.

Is Bitcoin price at risk of more losses?

When asked how low the Bitcoin price can go from current levels, Komodo Platform CTO Kadan Stadelmann said that a drop to lows around $20,000 should not be ruled out, especially if investors remain in panic mode and macroeconomic uncertainty lasts. 

However, he emphasized that such a bottom, if reached, would likely be short-lived, as long-term fundamentals and institutional interest remain intact.

“There is the argument that the steep price declines of past bear markets are unlikely to repeat themselves due to institutional involvement, which would place Bitcoin’s bottom closer to $60,000,” Stadelmann told crypto.news.