Bitcoin drops below $63,000 as tariffs and AI fears weigh on sentiment

Bitcoin fell below the $63,000 level during Asian trading hours, extending overnight weakness as tariff policy changes and artificial intelligence concerns dampened investor sentiment.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value was trading at about $63,485 at the time of writing and is now down 7.2% for the week.

Prices are hovering near levels last seen on Feb. 6, when the token nearly dropped to $60,000.

Market participants linked the move to broader risk-off behavior across financial assets.

US stocks declined after President Donald Trump said he would impose temporary 15% tariffs on imports, raising the rate from the 10% announced earlier following a Supreme Court decision that struck down his previous tariff strategy.

Investors have also been selling shares of companies viewed as vulnerable to artificial intelligence disruption.

Matt Howells-Barby, vice president at Kraken, Pro Trader, and host of Trading Spaces, said in a CoinDesk report: “Similar to equities, Bitcoin has had a sharp pullback today, driven largely by renewed tariff-related uncertainty, similar to the events of April 2025. Furthermore, ratcheting geopolitical tensions could likely prove bearish for BTC in the short-term.”

He added that the $60,000 level is a key support that traders are watching. “If that level fails to hold, we could potentially see a move into the mid-to-low $50K range,” he noted.

Technical signals point to possible further downside

Historical trading patterns suggest the cryptocurrency may not have reached a market bottom yet.

Bitcoin has rarely bottomed until the 50-week average price crosses below the 100-week average price, a formation commonly referred to as a “bear cross.”

This signal marked the end of major bear markets in both 2022 and 2018.

Currently, the 50-week average price remains well above the 100-week average, indicating the bearish crossover has not yet occurred.

Analysts speaking at Consensus Hong Kong told CoinDesk that, if historical trends hold, prices could slide further toward $50,000 or lower before a capitulation phase occurs.

The crossover is considered a lagging indicator, confirming declines already in place rather than predicting future price movements.

Liquidations mount as broader crypto market weakens

The downturn triggered heavy liquidations across the derivatives market.

According to CoinGlass data, total liquidations over the past 24 hours totaled $368.96 million, with $274.47 million in long positions and $94.49 million in short positions.

Weakness spread across the broader cryptocurrency market, which fell 1.6% over the same period, bringing its total market capitalization to $2.2 trillion.

Major tokens followed Bitcoin lower.

Ethereum dropped 1.5% to $1,834 after analysts warned it could face a deeper correction if prices remain below $2,000.

Solana declined 0.7% to around $77.13, while XRP slipped 0.28% to $1.33.

Sentiment indicators reflected rising caution among traders.

Retail sentiment toward Ethereum moved into “extremely bearish” territory over the past day, while sentiment for Solana and XRP remained in the “bearish” zone.