Bitcoin (BTC $90,427.02) saw its “digital gold” narrative take another hit on Monday as the price tumbled and traders scaled back expectations for a rapid move to $100,000 by the end of January. The decline followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on Denmark and seven other European countries.
Trump announced on Saturday that he would levy a 10% tax on countries opposing his plans to acquire Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory near North America. The European Union responded by vowing to defend Greenland’s sovereignty, calling Trump’s proposal hostile to prosperity and free markets.
The geopolitical tension spurred traders to cut odds of bitcoin reaching $100,000, according to the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket. “Yes” shares in the relevant Polymarket contract fell to 27% from nearly 50% on Friday and 72% on Jan. 15.
Bitcoin briefly dipped toward $92,000 early Monday, according to CoinDesk data, with the selloff spreading across the crypto market. CoinDesk indexes tracking memecoins, metaverse, computing, DeFi, and culture & entertainment all fell more than 7%. Meanwhile, Asian and European equities declined, and gold climbed to record highs, signaling a classic flight-to-safety move.
The selloff highlights bitcoin’s ongoing correlation with stocks, despite the “digital gold” narrative touted by its proponents. The term “digital gold” refers to bitcoin’s role as a potential safe haven, where investors can park capital similarly to precious metals during periods of macroeconomic or geopolitical uncertainty.
“Bitcoin has slumped for a fifth consecutive day, retreating from its highest levels since November while struggling to hold above $92,000,” said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com. He attributed the decline to a combination of profit-taking and a broader “risk-off” pivot as traders reacted to rising U.S. political and geopolitical tensions.
On the upside, bitcoin and ether spot ETFs drew $1.4 billion and over $500 million in inflows last week, marking their strongest performance since October. Large investors, or so-called whales holding 1,000–10,000 BTC, also increased activity by 28% over the past week, according to BGeometrics data cited by Hasn.
However, analysts note that these trends must continue to sustain a meaningful market rebound. According to Laser Digital, near-term price action will depend on how the U.S.–EU tariff situation evolves. “Meanwhile, ongoing geopolitical risks persist in the Middle East, with tensions rising over the weekend,” the firm said in an email to CoinDesk.
Traders are also closely monitoring upcoming catalysts, including this week’s Davos forum, U.S. GDP and core personal consumption expenditures data, and a pending Supreme Court decision on the legality of Trump’s proposed tariffs.
