A weekend shock tied to US President Donald Trump’s plans to annex Greenland and impose tariffs on European countries triggered heavy liquidations. The move liquidated $865 million in positions in 24 hours, adding to volatility.
Trump later paused his Greenland and EU tariff plans, which helped drive a bounce toward $90,000. Even so, the whipsaw culled about $2 billion in positions in a short period.
Analysts also pointed to gold safe-haven demand as a competing narrative. Verbitskii said gold absorbed more hedge-driven inflows, which left Bitcoin sidelined as investors repriced risk.
On-chain signals added pressure. CryptoQuant data showed net realized profit/loss turned negative, marking the first 30-day period of net realized losses since October 2023.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs also saw heavy redemptions, based on SoSoValue data. The data showed $1.22 billion in weekly outflows, the largest weekly total since November.
A separate discussion has focused on quantum computing and Bitcoin’s longer-term security. Analyst James Check said selling by long-term holders drove the weakness, not quantum computing concerns. Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter took the opposite view and linked underperformance to quantum risk.
Meanwhile, Coinbase formed an independent advisory board to assess quantum threats to blockchain. The board plans to publish open reports, with a first programmatic document expected in early 2027.
Bitcoin’s near-term outlook now hinges on whether fresh demand returns at these levels. Until then, capped open interest, fragile sentiment, and competing safe-haven flows may keep BTC price action volatile.