Bitcoin Pulls Back As Record Rally Triggers Profit Taking

Bitcoin fell as traders cashed in after a record-breaking rally sent the top digital token above the $120,000 milestone.

The cryptocurrency declined as much 3.2%, the most in more than three weeks, and was trading at $116,925 as of 8:29 a.m. in New York on Tuesday. Second-ranked Ether was down less than 1% and other smaller coins including XRP, Solana also dropped around 2% each.

The retreat came after Bitcoin surged to a record $123,205 on Monday, gains that were fueled by optimism about potential progress in US digital asset legislation that may advance President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly agenda. The cryptocurrency also has benefited from a recent rally in other risk assets, including near-record high US stocks, as concerns about the economic impact of Trump’s new trade war eased.

“This is just a standard pullback after an overheating in the market,” said Stefan von Haenisch, director of over-the-counter trading in Asia Pacific for crypto custody firm Bitgo Inc. The next key support level for Bitcoin is $114,000, a level that has previously triggered liquidation of a large amount of short positions, he added.