Bitcoin battles around $93,000… “Watch for heightened volatility ahead of the Davos forum”

Bitcoin (BTC) remains stuck in a downtrend, locked in a tug-of-war around key price levels as trade tensions between the United States and Europe persist.

According to CoinDesk on the 20th (local time), Bitcoin (BTC) slid overnight to as low as $91,800, then attempted to stabilize above the $93,000 level in thin liquidity conditions as U.S. stock markets were closed. On an intraday basis, it was down about 2%.

At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) traded around $3,200, down 3.7%, while major altcoins including Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Avalanche (AVAX) fell 5% to 6%. Sui (SUI) posted a drop of more than 10%.

The trigger for this volatility was pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump over tariffs. After Trump stepped up pressure in negotiations related to Greenland and raised the possibility of additional tariffs on European countries including Denmark, selling pressure broadened across risk assets. Meanwhile, demand for safe havens strengthened, with gold nearing $4,700 per ounce and notching a fresh record. Gold has risen more than 70% over the past 12 months.

Market participants say digital assets continue to show relative weakness. Matt Howells-Barby, vice president at Kraken, said that “since the sharp drop in October, digital assets have displayed asymmetric downside risk, reacting more strongly to negative news,” adding that “geopolitical headlines quickly capped short-term momentum.” Still, he noted that the pullback has been limited to about 3.5%, suggesting the market may be partially pricing in expectations that Trump could tone down the level of tariff threats—dubbed “TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).”

Howells-Barby warned that volatility could increase depending on remarks around the Davos World Economic Forum. The market is reacting sensitively to signals that the tariff conflict may ease or escalate, and is watching whether Bitcoin can hold support around $93,000.