Bitcoin Prices Today: Bitcoin prices have sharply cooled, tumbling nearly 30 per cent from their recent record high as risk-off sentiment grips global
markets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency had surged just over a month ago on strong investor optimism surrounding the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance, but support has faded amid renewed macro uncertainty and a sell-off in major technology stocks. Bitcoin hit an all-time high of USD 126,251 on October 6, 2025, before retreating only four days later after unexpected tariff-related remarks from President Donald Trump triggered a global market downturn. As of 9:47 am IST, Bitcoin was trading 0.8 per cent lower at USD 95,046.09 (Rs 84,32,964.34). Matthew Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, captured the shift in sentiment, stating, “The general market is risk-off,” adding that “Crypto was the canary in the coal mine for that; it was the first to flinch.”
Institutional Demand Weakens, ETFs Slow Down
A major driver of the latest decline is reduced institutional participation. Key buyers, including ETF allocators and corporate treasuries, have scaled back purchases, weakening a critical support pillar for Bitcoin.Bloomberg noted that these institutions previously acted as the backbone of Bitcoin’s legitimacy and pricing strength. Bloomberg data shows ETFs collectively absorbed over USD 25 billion, helping push Bitcoin’s market value as high as USD 169 billion during the rally and reinforcing its appeal as a hedge against inflation, monetary debasement and political instability.
Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen, highlighted the multiple pressures behind the selloff: “The selloff is a confluence of profit-taking by LTHs, institutional outflows, macro uncertainty, and leveraged longs getting wiped out." Adding, "what is clear is that the market has temporarily chosen a downward direction after a long period of consolidation/ranging.”
Smaller Tokens Bleed Harder
Bitcoin has been extremely volatile throughout 2025. In April, it retreated to USD 74,400 after Trump announced new tariffs, before bouncing back sharply to fresh record highs. The latest correction, however, has once again dragged the crypto market lower. Bitcoin currently accounts for around 60 per cent of the USD 3.2 trillion global crypto market.However, the downturn has been much harsher for smaller and less liquid altcoins, which typically rally harder than Bitcoin in bullish cycles but suffer deeper losses during market pullbacks. An index tracking the smaller half of the top 100 crypto assets is currently down nearly 60 per cent for the year, underscoring the severity of the correction.
(INR 1 = USD 88.73)
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