The leading cryptocurrency continued its correction, with trading volumes surging as the price fell below $83,000.
At one point, the price dropped to a local low near $81,100.
Four-hour chart of BTC/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView.
This sell-off is accompanied by a widespread decline in risk appetite and a cooling of global markets, particularly in the tech sector and precious metals.
The total market capitalization of crypto assets decreased by 5.6% over the day, dropping to $2.9 trillion, according to CoinGecko. This marks one of the largest daily declines since October 10, when tariff threats from Donald Trump caused a $0.5 trillion market crash.
The price drop triggered a wave of liquidations, with approximately $1.68 billion in forced closures over the last 24 hours. Most of the losses were from long positions.
Liquidation map. Source: CoinGlass.
Amid the correction, the hashrate of digital gold saw its steepest decline since October 2021, according to Glassnode. This drop is largely due to mass shutdowns of miners in the U.S. caused by a winter storm.
Bitcoin's hashrate fell to levels not seen since July 2025. Source: Blockchain.
Analysts also found that over the past 30 days, long-term holders sold an average of more than 12,000 BTC (~370,000 BTC per month).
Altcoin Crash
Ethereum dropped to $2,700 (-6.7% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko). Solana hit a nine-month low around $115, while XRP fell to $1.75.
Market weakness was evident even before the sell-off on January 29. Over the past week, only two assets in the top 30 showed double-digit growth—HYPE from Hyperliquid and CC from Canton. Almost all other large-cap tokens are in the "red zone."
Top 30 crypto assets by market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko.
Tech Sector and Metals
Microsoft shares plummeted by 10%, marking its worst daily performance since March 2020. This put pressure on the entire software sector.
Following the stock market's downturn, precious metals also reversed their recent upward trends. Gold fell from ~$5,500 to $5,150; silver dropped sharply from a historic high of $121 to $108 per ounce within an hour.
Shutdown Threat
The sell-offs are intensifying amid political risks in Washington. According to CNBC, lawmakers failed to conduct a procedural vote on the budget. If the bill is not passed by the weekend, the U.S. faces another government shutdown.
On January 30, 2026 | 10:46 Update:
Representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. Congress reached a compromise that will prevent a shutdown.
According to President Donald Trump, the parties agreed on funding government operations through the end of September. A budget for the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard was also agreed upon—Trump noted that the latter is "expanding and recovering like never before."
The previous shutdown lasted 43 days and coincided with a 15% drop in Bitcoin.
Analysts from CryptoQuant announced the beginning of an early bear phase in the crypto market.