Bitcoin tumbled below $63,000 on Tuesday, extending its recent decline and erasing roughly half its value from the October record high of $126,272. The cryptocurrency's latest drop reflects growing uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, particularly after the Supreme Court struck down much of President Trump's tariff regime. Institutional and retail investors continued selling, with large holders moving significant amounts to exchanges ahead of potential liquidations.

Bitcoin's 50% decline from its October peak marks one of the steepest corrections in recent memory. The downturn accelerated despite Strategy's disclosure of purchasing an additional 592 Bitcoin on Monday, bringing its total holdings to over 471,000 coins. However, the company is nursing substantial unrealized losses as Bitcoin trades well below Strategy's average cost basis of $76,020 per coin. On-chain data from CryptoQuant and Coinglass showed "whales" continuing to transfer vast amounts to exchanges, suggesting more selling pressure ahead.

The broader crypto market followed Bitcoin lower, with Ethereum falling 2.8% to $1,826.75 and other major altcoins posting similar declines. The sector's weakness stems from multiple factors: heightened geopolitical uncertainty over Iran, an AI-fueled selloff on Wall Street, and the prospect of new U.S. trade measures. While crypto markets aren't directly affected by trade policy, they remain highly sensitive to shifts in overall market sentiment. Trump's announcement of 15% universal tariffs under a different legal framework, though initially set at 10%, has created additional uncertainty that's weighing on risk assets across the board.