Bitcoin fell below $65,000 on Thursday, marking its lowest price since President Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
The sudden drop in the world’s largest cryptocurrency comes despite Trump’s broad support for the crypto industry. During his presidential campaign, Trump pitched himself as the “crypto president.” And after returning to the White House, he signed an executive order to promote crypto and other digital assets.
Despite the president’s goal to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world,” Bitcoin is currently going through its lowest point in over 15 months.
One day after the 2024 election, bitcoin traded around $69,000. Fast-forward to Thursday, and the price fell below that point and rapidly continued its downward trend. By Thursday afternoon, bitcoin’s dollar value sat around $63,000.
Thursday’s sell-off, which is being described as a “crypto winter” by crypto money managers, stands in contrast to its highest peak in early October when bitcoin reached roughly $126,000.
The crash comes one day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the House Financial Services Committee. During the hearing, he said the Treasury Department has no authority to stabilize crypto markets. Bessent testified again on Thursday, this time before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
On his second day of congressional testimony, the Cabinet official derided crypto insiders who are openly opposing a Senate bill that he argues is a “very good” regulation.
“There seems to be a nihilist group in the industry who prefers no regulation over this very good regulation,” Bessent told the Senate banking committee.
The Trump administration has been pushing to deregulate the crypto industry over the past year in favor of more cooperation with crypto leaders to foster industry growth.
For instance, Trump used his executive authority to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile to make the U.S. a leader of government digital asset strategy. He also signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act into law to establish the first comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value.
Meanwhile, Trump exhibits deep personal and family ties to crypto business ventures. Trump and his three sons are listed as cofounders of World Liberty Financial, which is facing scrutiny from Congress.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) pressed the group this week on its dealings with Emirati national security adviser Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as the “spy sheikh,” before Trump took office last year. Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tried getting the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to halt the review of World Liberty Financial’s bank charter application. Her request was denied.
