BTC Slips Under $89K for First Time in 3 Months Amid Nasdaq Futures Slide and Rising Risk Aversion

Bitcoin Falls Below $89K as Market Sell-Off Deepens, Yen Strength Sparks Risk Concerns

Bitcoin (BTC) dropped under $89,000 on Tuesday, hitting its lowest level in three months as risk-off sentiment gripped global markets. Weakness in Nasdaq futures pointed to further declines in tech stocks, while a surging Japanese yen fueled investor caution, drawing parallels to past risk aversion events.

BTC briefly touched $87,000, its lowest price since mid-November, according to CoinDesk data. The downturn spread across the crypto market, with Ether (ETH) tumbling 9% to $2,400, Solana’s SOL plunging 14%—bringing its weekly losses above 20%—and both Dogecoin (DOGE) and XRP (XRP) shedding 11%. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which tracks major cryptocurrencies, slid 7%.

“Despite Donald Trump’s recent support for Bitcoin, state-level Bitcoin reserve proposals failed to pass in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming,” said Valentin Fournier, an analyst at BRN. “The reluctance to hold BTC in government reserves highlights ongoing political concerns and the risks associated with state-level adoption.”

Fournier added that a more practical approach to Bitcoin reserves might involve national-level strategies, such as backing BTC holdings with government bond issuances or reallocating a portion of U.S. gold reserves.

Some market watchers believe Bitcoin’s latest downturn is tied to a contraction in global liquidity. “Bitcoin’s price movement often lags changes in money supply. With global liquidity bottoming out recently, this slump could be short-lived,” said Andre Dragosch, head of European research at Biwise.

Macroeconomic uncertainty remains a key factor, with risk-off sentiment intensifying across traditional markets. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.3% early Tuesday, continuing a three-day decline that has erased more than 4% from the tech-heavy index since Feb. 18.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen strengthened to 149.38 per U.S. dollar, approaching Monday’s three-month high of 148.84. The yen has surged nearly 6% in six weeks on expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates—fueling comparisons to last July’s yen rally, which triggered a major sell-off in Bitcoin, pushing it from $65,000 to $50,000 in days.

“Yen strength is often a signal of global risk aversion, and major rallies in the currency have historically coincided with sharp downturns in risk assets,” said Joseph Wang, operator of research portal FedGuy.com.