The cryptocurrency market’s initial gains from the start of the year have evaporated in just a few days, with Bitcoin’s price sinking below $88,000, marking a 19-day low. Many altcoins are also suffering, with XMR and HYPE being among the most impacted.

Bitcoin Drops Below $90,000

Just last week, Bitcoin climbed to nearly $98,000, with many anticipating it would exceed $100,000 as optimism surged. However, that rally quickly turned sour. On Monday morning, as Asian and futures markets opened, Bitcoin fell sharply from $95,500 to around $92,000. After a brief recovery attempt to $93,500, it plunged further to $91,000 on Tuesday. The latest drop has seen Bitcoin dip below $88,000, its lowest point since January 2.

Despite a slight recovery to over $89,000, Bitcoin remains down by 2% for the day and 6% weekly, with a market cap that now stands at $1.780 trillion. Its dominance over alternative cryptocurrencies is recorded at 57.5%.

Bitcoin Chart BTCUSD Jan 21. Source: TradingView

Altcoins Continue to Suffer

Ethereum, which recently hovered above $3,300, has now fallen below $3,000 after consecutive losses over the past three days. XRP’s price has fallen from more than $2.10 to $1.90, BNB has lost significant ground below $900, and TRX is down by 3%.

XMR has experienced the most significant drop, plummeting 15% and now trading below $500, while HYPE sees an 8% decrease, settling at $21. In contrast, CC and WLFI have managed to fare somewhat better, rising 7% and 5%, respectively.

The entire market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has dropped below $3.1 trillion, accounting for a staggering loss of over $250 billion since the start of the week.