Cryptocurrency market is in free fall as Bitcoin falls below $70,000 while Coinbase and Circle stocks tumble.

Major crypto companies are being dragged along with it. Coinbasethe largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has seen its shares fall by 50% in the past three months and is currently trading at around $151. The stock price of Strategy, a company that The reason for its existence For buying and holding Bitcoin, it also fell by 54% during that period. Meanwhile, shares of stablecoin giant Circle, which traded as high as $263 after its IPO last June, are now trading at $52.

The decline of Bitcoin and these major stocks is the latest sign that cryptocurrencies are not living up to what was supposed to be a golden age under the second Trump administration. The president has adopted a more crypto-friendly stance than his predecessor. After his election, the digital asset industry experienced a boom, which now looks more like a sugar rush. The recent decline began on a fateful day in October when… Traders lost $19 billion in their cryptocurrency positionsand Bitcoin continued to decline from there.

Cryptocurrencies were supposed to be a safe haven asset during tough economic times. Hard times came, but traders invested elsewhere. Gold, for example, has risen by 43% in the past six months, as confidence in the US dollar weakens – although it has also suffered major setbacks in the past two weeks. Macroeconomic concerns stem from stubborn inflation and a weak labor market, among other factors.

“Political uncertainty, including the high likelihood of a government shutdown in February and the nomination of a more hawkish Fed chair, is encouraging investors to delay a return to riskier assets,” said Beto Aparicio, senior director of strategic finance at Offchain Labs.

Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency suffering losses. Ethereum It has fallen nearly 42% in the past three months to its current price of around $1,970 Solana It has fallen 49% over that period to its current price of around $83.

Things will only get worse from here, according to traders in prediction markets. On Calcium, 58% of traders say Bitcoin will drop below $60,000 at some point in February.