Investing.com - Bitcoin fell on Tuesday, extending its recent decline and losing half its value from its October all-time high, as uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policy dampened risk appetite in the cryptocurrency market.

The broader cryptocurrency market also extended its recent decline, as institutional and retail traders continued to sell off their holdings. Heightened geopolitical uncertainty surrounding Iran and an AI-fueled sell-off on Wall Street dampened sentiment.

Bitcoin fell nearly 4% to $63,131.3 by 9:13 AM (6:13 GMT). Earlier in the day, the cryptocurrency had fallen as low as $62,758.2.

Bitcoin Loses 50% from All-Time High; Tariff Concerns Weigh In

After Tuesday's losses, Bitcoin now trades roughly 50% below its all-time high of $126,272 reached in early October. The world's largest cryptocurrency has been in a prolonged downtrend since then, as new US regulatory measures and continued buying by Strategy, its largest corporate holder, have done little to boost sentiment.

Strategy disclosed the purchase of an additional 592 Bitcoin on Monday. The company is suffering deep losses in the value of its Bitcoin holdings, with the cryptocurrency also trading below Strategy's average Bitcoin price of $76,020.

Analysis of blockchain data from CryptoQuant and Coinglass showed that large Bitcoin holders—known in the industry as "whales"—continued to move massive amounts of the cryptocurrency to exchanges, likely to sell the coin.

At the same time, there was a lack of significant buying among institutional and retail investors. Glassnode data showed that institutional investors sold off Bitcoin spot ETFs for the fifth week in a row as of Monday. Uncertainty Around Trump Tariffs Weighs in, New Tariffs Take Effect

The latest wave of Bitcoin weakness was driven primarily by heightened uncertainty surrounding US trade policy after the Supreme Court struck down most of President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

Trump responded by announcing blanket 15% tariffs under a different legal framework, though the levies only took effect at 10% at midnight on Tuesday.

Trump now faces a more serious legal challenge to the imposition and escalation of his trade tariffs, although the president has given no indication of abandoning his tariff agenda. He has also threatened countries with higher tariffs if they attempt to renegotiate recent trade agreements with Washington.

While cryptocurrency markets are not directly affected by trade turmoil, they are highly sensitive to changes in market sentiment given their entirely speculative nature. Uncertainty surrounding US tariffs has fueled risk aversion in global financial markets. Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Altcoins Follow Bitcoin's Losses, No Relief

Most altcoins fell in unison with Bitcoin on Tuesday, with the sector seeing no relief from the prolonged selloff.

The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, fell 2.8% to $1,826.75, remaining near its early February lows.

XRP and BNB fell 2.6% and 1.4%, respectively, while Cardano and Solana fell 3.3% and 2.8%, respectively.

Among meme coins, Dogecoin fell 3.6%, while $TRUMP fell 0.9%.

Source: https://ru.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/article-3123186

Bitcoin fell below $63,000, losing 50% from its October high.