The price of Bitcoin has fallen below the 90.000 dollar mark. It has reached its lowest level since mid-November amid a broader sell-off in the crypto market.
The price of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency stands at 88.780 dollars, representing a decline of nearly 7.5%.
This drop comes after the largest crypto token theft in history and several controversies related to a “meme coin”. It refers to a cryptocurrency launched by Donald Trump ahead of preparations for the inauguration of the United States (U.S.) president.
Bitcoin fell by more than 19%
The value of Bitcoin has dropped by more than 19% since reaching a record high of 109.114 dollars on President Donald Trump’s inauguration day, January 20th.
Ether, the second most valuable crypto asset by market capitalization, has experienced an even sharper decline. The drop is more than 11%. It has fallen to 2.390 dollars.
Prices of other popular crypto tokens, including Ripple Labs-associated XRP, Binance’s BNB, and Solana’s SOL, have also recorded significant declines of 14.3%, 6.4%, and 15%.
$Trump token surges
Just a few days before his inauguration, the president launched the $TRUMP coin, on the Solana blockchain.
Shortly after its launch, the price of this token surged above 75dollars. Its market capitalization briefly exceeded 15 billiondollars.
The price of the $TRUMP token currently stands at 12.9 dollars, representing a decline of more than 14% and more than 82% from its all-time high.
The token’s website at launch stated that it was not intended as an “investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any kind,” but rather as an “expression of support” for the president.
At the time of launch, several cryptocurrency executives warned that an unstable meme token backed by the president could harm the industry’s reputation.
The biggest recent meme coin controversy, aside from the one involving Trump, included Argentine President Javier Milei and his promotion of the Libra token.
Argentine president promotes token
At the beginning of February, Milei promoted the token on the X platform.
He claimed it was dedicated to fostering economic growth in Argentina through financing small businesses and startups. After the announcement, the price of the $LIBRA token surged sharply.
Its market capitalization exceeded four billion dollars. However, early investors immediately began cashing out their tokens, leading to a sharp price drop.
Milei has since distanced himself from the project and dismissed complaints from investors who lost money on Bitcoin, later stating: “If you go to a casino and lose money, what are you complaining about when you knew the risks?”
This incident has led to dozens of fraud lawsuits against the Argentine leader.
A few days before the Milei controversy, the president of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera, launched his meme coin as an alleged “experiment” aimed at raising the profile of one of the world’s poorest countries.
The price of this token has fallen by more than 97% since its launch, Forbes writes.
