Bitcoin price today: retreats to $103k from record highs amid Trump uncertainty

Bitcoin pulled back from record highs on Tuesday as traders looked to President Donald Trump for more cues on crypto policy, after he signed a flurry of executive orders on his first day in office.

Crypto markets had rallied on Monday ahead of Trump’s inauguration, especially amid reports that the President would dole out pro-crypto executive orders upon taking office.

But Trump so far made no references to crypto policy, with his orders instead focusing on several other campaign promises, including TikTok, trade, and the energy sector.

Bitcoin slumped from record highs of over $109,000 on this trend, with uncertainty over Trump’s plans for trade tariffs also weighing on risk appetite. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was trading down 4% at $103,600.0 by 09:45 ET (14:48 GMT).

“Bitcoin got back above the $100K threshold over the weekend on improved short-term momentum," analysts at Fairlead Strategies said in a note.

"A trading range is intact below final resistance (~$108.3K), and intermediate-term upside momentum has waned, so we would hold off on adding exposure until oversold conditions return or resistance is cleared in a positive catalyst.”

Crypto markets were also rattled by Trump’s launch of two memecoins- $TRUMP and $MELANIA, which ramped up volatility in the sector despite being received positively by traders.  Trump uncertainty weighs on crypto 

Crypto markets were holding out for some executive orders from Trump, after the President made no reference to the industry in a flurry of executive orders signed through Monday. 

Trump threatened trade tariffs against Canada and Mexico, declared a national emergency over the energy sector, and even allowed social media platform TikTok an extension in the implementation of a publicly opposed ban. 

But the President- who had campaigned on a pro-crypto platform- did not sign any orders addressing the industry. Media reports prior to his inauguration showed crypto industry members, such as Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, were expecting pro-crypto orders “imminently.” 

Bitcoin had surged to record highs on this notion, although it only briefly held those levels.  $TRUMP, $MELANIA volatility dents crypto sentiment 

Despite some hopes for Trump’s policies, sentiment towards crypto markets was also dented by the launch of two memecoins by the President.

While trader demand for $TRUMP was initially robust, the memecoin logged wild swings after falling sharply from weekend highs. Data from Coinmarketcap showed the memecoin had a market capital of $7 billion, about half of its weekend peaks. 

The launch of $MELANIA, named after the First Lady, was met with less enthusiasm, with traders raising some ethical questions over Trump leveraging his political standing to influence speculative markets to his favor. Both tokens substantially boosted the President’s personal net worth, at least on paper. MicroStrategy adds 11K BTC to its stack

MicroStrategy has further expanded its substantial Bitcoin holdings.

During the week ending January 19, the company acquired 11,000 BTC for $1.1 billion, bringing its total holdings to 461,000 BTC. The latest purchase came at an average price of $101,191 per bitcoin, pushing MicroStrategy's overall average purchase price to $63,610.

Michael Saylor hinted at the announcement on X on Sunday, writing, "Things will be different tomorrow." Since then, he has shared several photos of himself alongside Eric Trump, crypto advocate David Sacks, and Robert Kennedy Jr. Crypto price today: atlcoins slide tracking Bitcoin

Broader crypto prices fell in tandem with Bitcoin, as the market was underwhelmed by a lack of crypto-oriented orders from Trump.

World no.2 token Ether fell 1.3% to $3,294.78, while XRP fell over 6% to $3.11.

Solana , Cardano , and Polygon slid between 1% and 7.4%, while among meme tokens, Dogecoin traded marginally higher. 

Ambar Warrick contributed to this report. 

Source: Investing.com