Bitcoin is having a bad year as price tumbles to fresh lows today: Why does crypto keep falling in 2026?
Much to the chagrin of investors, the value of Bitcoin continues to slide.
As of Wednesday morning, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency was trading around $75,000 per coin. That’s down more than 10% over the past five days, down 18% over the past month, and down a whopping 34% over the past six months.
It’s a far cry from October of last year, when Bitcoin’s price topped out at nearly $125,000. Values are now roughly where they were in early April 2025, and before that, in November 2024.
From bump to slump
Notably, Bitcoin’s value is now lower than it was when Trump took office last January, effectively giving up all of the “Trump Bump” gains that it and other crypto assets saw over much of 2025.
That bump was real, too: Bitcoin returns were down around 12% during Q1 2025, but jumped to nearly 30% during Q2, and then 6.3% in Q3, according to data from Coinglass.
The downturn seemingly took hold at some point during Q4, when returns were down 23%. Ethereum, the second-largest crypto on the market, saw a similar trajectory: It saw huge increases (37% during Q2 and 67% during Q3), followed by a big drop in Q4 (down 28%).
Here are a few notable crypto slumps year to date as of this writing:
- Bitcoin (BTC): Down 13.86%
- Ether (ETC): Down 25.56%
- XRP (XRP): Down 15.13%
Why are crypto values declining?
As for what’s causing the sell-off? A lot of things, but mostly, investors looking for off-ramps from riskier assets.
This can partially be blamed on a government shutdown delaying the release of important economic data (the jobs report was supposed to come out on Friday, but has been delayed), geopolitical tensions rising in many parts of the world, on-again off-again tariff threats, and even the fear of increased regulation on the crypto industry, according to reporting from CNBC.
The crypto markets are also caught in the maelstrom of other downturns. The stock market has been flat for the past month, with some earnings announcements—notably Microsoft’s—causing fervor and worry among investors.
President Trump has also named a new Fed Chair, who if confirmed will take up the position in mid-May, adding another variable of uncertainty into the mix.
As a cherry on top, precious metals have seen a steep sell-off, too. Gold and silver prices had shot to the moon in recent months, last week, silver experienced its worst day ever, falling nearly 30%.
The confluence of all of these factors is what’s led to massive crypto volatility.
This story is developing…