Bitcoin plunged 6.3% to $79,941.43 as of 8:11 am AST Friday. However, its market volume marginally rose by 0.9% to $67.4 billion, whereas market capitalization declined by 6.4% to $1.58 trillion around the same time.

This strong downturn in bitcoin prices was triggered by higher selling pressure in the cryptocurrency market in the wake of volatile conditions brewing in international markets, reported AFP on Friday.

The cryptocurrency fell as low as $79,500 on Friday before recovering to $79,000. Bitcoin declined sharply from the all-time high of $109,114.9 it recorded on January 20, 2025.

Previous rally

Bitcoin registered heavy gains during the US election campaign and Donald Trump's victory towards the end of 2024. The cryptocurrency registered record-breaking prices as Trump made repeated pledges to relax regulations of digital tokens and make the US the crypto capital of the world.

However, investor enthusiasm and confidence have waned recently amid Trump's decision to impose stringent policies such as higher import tariffs on its trading partners, which pose the risk of triggering a global trade war.

Additionally, his promises to cut taxes and reduce immigration have also led to widespread worries that such policies could revive inflation, pushing the US Federal Reserve to maintain interest rates at higher levels for a longer period, contrary to previous expectations.

Other cryptocurrencies

Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, also plummeted 9.9% to $2,110.8 as of 9:27 am AST Friday. Similarly, its market capitalization fell by 10.2% to $254.1 billion around the same time.

Tether also edged down 0.01% to $0.9987 as of 9:30 am AST Friday, while its market capitalization dropped 0.1% to $142.02 billion around the same time.