Bitcoin saw a steep pullback this week, wiping out its 2026 gains as the price fell under the $88,000 mark on major exchanges. Data cited from CoinGlass shows that in the last 24 hours, 167,513 traders were liquidated and total positions worth $857 million were closed, mostly from leveraged longs. The sell-off unfolded alongside heightened tariff threats, bond market stress and a broader shift toward safe-haven assets.

According to Cointelegraph/TradingView, the BTC-to-gold ratio slid to around 18.5 ounces per Bitcoin on Wednesday, its lowest level since November 2023, as gold set a new high near $4,888 and BTC hovered above $90,000. Analysts including Charles Edwards, Decode and Bitwise's André Dragosch view the discount as unusual and say it may precede a rotation back into BTC.

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly debated French central bank chief François Villeroy de Galhau over whether Bitcoin or central banks better safeguard monetary independence. Armstrong argued that Bitcoin's decentralized design makes it more independent than state institutions, while later accusing U.S. banking lobbies of using stalled stablecoin legislation to stifle crypto competition. Hedge fund veteran Ray Dalio separately warned of a breakdown in the monetary system as investors increasingly look to Bitcoin and gold and seized Bitcoin is moved into U.S. strategic reserves.

Bitcoin has fallen more than 6% over the past week, trading back below $90,000 after briefly reclaiming $97,000, as global markets react to a sharp move in Japan’s bond market and intensifying tariff tensions between the U.S. and Europe. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield has surged to about 2.29%, its highest level since 1999, while new U.S. tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland are set to rise from 10% in February to 25% by June, prompting analysts to warn of tighter financial conditions and fading risk appetite.

On-chain metrics indicate Bitcoin long-term holders have shifted back to net accumulation after months of distribution, a pattern previously seen earlier in 2025. Price remains capped below the $100,000–$103,000 resistance, and Mike Novogratz says a decisive break is needed to confirm momentum. The data also suggests a potential higher low forming despite cautious sentiment.

On January 20, GJL Research analyst Gordon Johnson used X to answer why Bitcoin’s price has been falling while gold has been climbing, arguing that BTC and other cryptocurrencies have "ZERO value." He pointed to Bitcoin’s lack of clear utility, its inability to function as a real currency due to fixed supply, the view that most cryptocurrencies are unregistered securities under the CLARITY Act, and the historical failures of private money. Over the same period, Bitcoin dropped from about $95,000 to roughly $89,000, while gold advanced from around $4,550 to near $4,860, which Johnson contrasted with gold’s long-standing role as a store of value.

Steak 'n Shake plans to introduce a Bitcoin bonus of $0.21 for every hour worked by hourly employees starting March 1, 2026, in partnership with the Fold rewards app. The bonus, which can total about $436 annually for a full-time worker, will vest after two years and has drawn both criticism over its limited value and praise as a way to familiarize staff with cryptocurrency. During this rollout, Bitcoin is trading around $88,732 with weekly losses reflecting broader market pressures.

On January 21 2026, onchain metrics indicated that Bitcoin holders have entered their first 30-day period of realized losses since October 2023, with prices slipping under the $90,000 mark and dropping 7.11% over the past week. The market downturn has coincided with record-breaking gold prices, a slide in spot Bitcoin ETF flows, and a decline in the crypto fear and greed index to “extreme fear,” even as large institutional buyers continue to accumulate Bitcoin.