Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Slumps Below $103K as U.S.-China Crypto Clash Intensifies

Bitcoin's price slipped below $103,000 on Nov. 9, 2025, as the U.S. government's reopening failed to alleviate market anxieties, with technical indicators and geopolitical tensions painting a bearish outlook for the cryptocurrency. The digital asset traded at $102,326, with a 24-hour trading volume of $48.14 billion, though its market capitalization remained resilient at $2.04 trillion, according to a Bitcoin Price Watch: Bearish Clouds Linger Despite Rangebound Price report. The lackluster response to the resumption of federal operations underscored persistent uncertainties, with analysts pointing to a broader trend of consolidation between $101,000 and $104,000, as noted in the same report.

Technical analyses highlighted a grim macro outlook, with Bitcoin's 1-day chart showing a sharp decline from $126,000 to $98,898, breaching critical support levels. While short-term traders noted a modest recovery, the 4-hour and 1-hour charts revealed weakening momentum, with declining volumes on upward moves and a neutral to bearish bias across oscillators like the RSI and MACD, as detailed in the Bitcoin Price Watch: Bearish Clouds Linger Despite Rangebound Price report. "The market is coasting in neutral, and unless something sparks momentum, bitcoin risks drifting into another leg downward," one analysis warned, according to the report.

Amid the bearish sentiment, a brief uptick occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a $2,000 "dividend" for most Americans, funded by tariffs. The move pushed Bitcoin to $104,000 for the third time in a week, with Ether and Solana also seeing gains, per a Bitcoin Price Spikes as Trump Announces $2,000 in Dividends to Some Americans report. However, the rally was short-lived, as broader macroeconomic pressures and geopolitical tensions overshadowed the stimulus news.

Meanwhile, a separate crisis emerged as China's cybersecurity agency accused the U.S. of orchestrating a $13 billion Bitcoin theft in a 2020 hack of the LuBian mining pool. Beijing's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) alleged that the U.S. government seized 127,272 BTC—then worth $3.5 billion—through a "state-level cyber operation," later rebranded as a legal asset forfeiture linked to Cambodia's Prince Group, according to a China Accuses U.S. of Orchestrating $13 Billion Bitcoin Theft report. The U.S. Department of Justice defended the seizure as part of a criminal investigation, but Chinese officials dismissed this, arguing the delayed movement of the stolen Bitcoin and its dormancy for four years indicated a coordinated, government-grade effort, as reported in the China Accuses US of State-Level Cyber Theft in Massive Bitcoin Seizure piece.

The dispute has intensified U.S.-China tensions over digital sovereignty, with the contested Bitcoin stash representing 0.65% of the total supply. At current prices, the seized coins are valued at $13.3 billion, raising concerns about the role of nation-states in controlling decentralized assets, per a China Accuses US of Stealing 127,426 Bitcoin Worth $13 Billion report. Analysts noted that the incident could precede stricter global regulations, complicating Bitcoin's status as a neutral store of value.

For now, Bitcoin remains trapped in a volatile range, with key resistance at $104,000–$106,000 and critical support at $98,898, as noted in the Bitcoin Price Watch: Bearish Clouds Linger Despite Rangebound Price report. A break above $106,000 could reignite bullish momentum, but sustained weakness below $98,000 would likely deepen the bearish trend. As geopolitical and technical headwinds converge, the cryptocurrency faces a critical juncture in its near-term trajectory.