Bitcoin Drops 4.2% to $82,417.7 Amid Crypto Summit Disappointment, Trump Reserve Plan

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, saw a notable decline on Monday, falling 4.2% to $82,417.7 by 01:39 GMT. This drop brought the cryptocurrency close to a four-month low, although it remained above the $80,000 mark. The decline was attributed to a combination of factors, including the underwhelming performance of a recent crypto summit and the announcement of a Bitcoin reserve plan by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The crypto summit, held at the White House, aimed to bring together industry leaders and policymakers to discuss the future of digital currencies. However, it failed to generate the expected enthusiasm. Many participants expressed disappointment with the lack of concrete outcomes and the absence of key stakeholders. This underwhelming performance contributed to the overall bearish sentiment in the market, leading to a sell-off of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Trump's Bitcoin reserve plan, announced shortly before the summit, also played a significant role in the price decline. The plan involves setting aside a portion of the U.S. government's reserves in Bitcoin, as well as a stockpile of four other altcoins—Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. However, the order does not entail any fresh crypto purchases by the government, at least not with taxpayer funds. While Trump did instruct his trade and commerce secretaries to explore “budget-neutral” strategies to buy Bitcoin, it was not immediately clear how such purchases would work. The reserve will be formed from seized crypto held by the government, mainly the Department of Justice. While Trump’s reserve indicates that the government will not sell any more tokens, a lack of buying measures heralds little actual market impact from the move. The reserve largely disappointed crypto proponents hoping for more aggressive measures from the government to buy crypto.

Broader market uncertainty also weighed on appetite for risk-driven assets, as traders fretted over a slowing U.S. economy and Trump’s plans for more trade tariffs. This broader market uncertainty extended to other cryptocurrencies, with Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano all experiencing significant declines. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin and $TRUMP also saw notable losses, with $TRUMP sliding to a record low.

Despite the recent decline, many analysts remain optimistic about the long-term prospects of Bitcoin