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Bitcoin turns negative for 2026 as Trump's calming Greenland remarks fail to reverse slide
There was a modest bounce after the president said the U.S. had no intention of taking Greenland by force, but prices quickly resumed their decline.
Updated Jan 21, 2026, 5:11 p.m. Published Jan 21, 2026, 4:58 p.m.
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What to know:
- Bitcoin has pulled back below $87,586, giving up all of its 2026 gain.
- The selloff in bitcoin was briefly reversed earlier Wednesday after President Trump — speaking at the WEF in Davos — said the U.S. had no intention of taking Greenland by force.
- The president also expressed optimism about the passage of a crypto market structure bill.
Bitcoin is now negative on the year after falling below $87,586 in midday U.S. trading hours on Wednesday.
The largest cryptocurrency is down about 3% over the past 24 hours. BTC earlier in the session had moved back above $90,000 as President Donald Trump — speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos — said the U.S. had no intention of taking Greenland by force. The president also expressed optimism about the ultimate passage of a crypto market structure bill.
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Other major cryptocurrencies, such as ether , XRP , and Solana , are also continuing to see declines.
Traditional markets are off session highs, but still faring better than crypto on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 holding modest gains.
To the particular consternation of bitcoin bulls, precious metals remain very well bid, with gold up another 1.5% on Wednesday to a fresh record high above $4,800 per ounce. Silver is flat after soaring to its own record on Tuesday.
Growing tensions between the U.S. and its European allies over the fate of Greenland, combined with a Tuesday crash in Japan's government bond market, sent risk assets — crypto among them — sharply lower. While Japanese bonds (and stocks) recovered modestly on Wednesday, the shocks continue to be felt throughout the global financial system.
Well-followed crypto and global macro prognosticator Arthur Hayes called the sharp rise in Japanese government bond yields "the match” that could start a global risk-off cycle. “Let’s see how big the fire gets,” he added.
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