Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 2% on Wednesday to around $73,000 per token after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the US government will not bail out the cryptocurrency.
In a heated back-and-forth hearing during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Bessent was asked if the US Treasury had the authority to buy bitcoin or other cryptos.
“I don’t have the authority to do that, and as FSOC chairman, I don’t have that authority,” Bessent stated.
The drop on Wednesday was also fueled by broader selling pressure in the markets and a warning from notable investor Michael Burry that a sustained decline in the price of bitcoin could “start a death spiral leading to massive value destruction.”
“Bitcoin has been exposed as a purely speculative asset, and not close to the debasement trading hedge that is gold and other precious metals,” Burry, who rose to prominence after predicting the 2008 financial crisis, wrote in his Substack.
The move lower only added to bitcoin’s recent rout. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has fallen by 13% over the past five days.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell sharply last weekend, hitting its lowest levels since last April and hitting its fourth consecutive month of losses.
The move lower coincided with President Trump’s announcement on Friday that he has chosen Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May, a nomination that markets see as hawkish.
Ether (ETH-USD) and other digital tokens also slide.
Read more: How to navigate a crypto meltdown
With bitcoin’s next support level at $73,000, “current flows suggest that sentiment has changed significantly,” 10X Research strategists wrote in a recent note.
The firm’s strategists pointed to flow and positioning data, which indicated “investors are not yet in a position to buy the dip.”
“While sentiment and technical indicators are approaching extreme levels, the broader downtrend remains intact,” the researchers wrote. “In the absence of a clear catalyst, there is little urgency to step in.”
The firm noted that traders remain focused on deleveraging and winding down their positions rather than preparing for a typical snapback rally.
The pressure on digital assets reflected the broader fragility in the crypto market. Aside from a brief bounce last month, bitcoin has struggled since October, when whale sales and forced liquidations swept the industry.
Fundstrat head of digital assets Sean Farrell said the mid-$70,000 region stands out as a logical support zone, as around $74,000 was the intraday high in March 2024 and the intraday low in April 2025 during the fee-driven selloff.