Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Falls Below $103K as Trade Tensions and Fed Policies Test Crypto Resilience

Bitcoin fell below $103,000 on November 3, 2025, extending its slide from a record high of $126,000 in early October amid a confluence of macroeconomic pressures and geopolitical tensions. The decline, which has erased nearly 15% of its value since late October, reflects a fragile market sentiment as investors grapple with trade conflicts, central bank policies, and the waning appeal of risk-on assets, according to a CryptoNews Q4 outlook. The selloff has also dragged down Ethereum, which dipped below $3,500, raising questions about the broader crypto market's resilience in the final quarter of the year, according to an Economic Times report.

The Bitcoin price reversal began in mid-October, fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and new restrictions on software exports. These measures triggered widespread liquidations across crypto markets, compounding fears of a broader economic slowdown, a point also highlighted in that CryptoNews outlook. Simultaneously, the Federal Reserve's cautious stance on rate cuts—hinting at a potential delay for a December reduction—strengthened the U.S. dollar, making non-yielding assets like Bitcoin less attractive compared to bonds and dividend-paying equities, as noted in a Barron's analysis. By early November, Bitcoin had retreated to $108,000, its weakest level since late October, while Ethereum lingered near $3,500 after a sharp pullback from $4,250, according to the Economic Times article.

Analysts warn that Bitcoin's next critical support level is $107,000, with a breakdown potentially triggering a cascade of further losses toward $90,000–$74,000 and beyond, according to a Barron's analysis. For Ethereum, the $4,000 threshold has proven elusive, with on-chain data showing declining network fees and weak ETF inflows as bearish indicators, according to a Cointelegraph report. "The lack of sustained buyer demand in futures markets and the absence of institutional flows suggest traders are in a holding pattern," the Cointelegraph piece noted, highlighting Ethereum's consolidation around $4,000 as a sign of indecision. Meanwhile, Ethereum's bulls face an uphill battle to reclaim $4,000, with technical analysts noting that a failure to hold above $3,650 could deepen the correction toward $3,300, according to a Coinpedia analysis.

The selloff has also disrupted seasonal trends. Historically, Q4 has been a bullish period for crypto, but 2025 marks the weakest start since 2022, with Bitcoin down nearly 6% in the quarter to date, as reported by the CryptoNews outlook. The Federal Reserve's policy uncertainty and lingering trade tensions have overshadowed optimism around institutional adoption, such as ETF flows and staking activity noted in that outlook. While some analysts remain cautiously bullish on Ethereum's long-term fundamentals—citing its active developer ecosystem and rising stablecoin usage—the near-term outlook remains clouded, the Economic Times piece added.

As markets enter the final stretch of 2025, the focus will shift to whether central banks can stabilize liquidity and whether trade tensions ease. For now, Bitcoin and Ethereum traders are bracing for volatility, with key support levels serving as barometers for the crypto market's broader health.