Investor fears and the rotation of capital into fast?growing asset markets are keeping BTC/USD under pressure. Just as Bitcoin gained ground following Donald Trump's retreat from tariff threats against Europe, new troubles arrived. The US president threatened Canada with 100% tariffs if it did not terminate a trade deal with China. The White House is increasing its military presence in the Middle East, and the US faces the threat of another government shutdown.

Numerous events may both raise and dampen global risk appetite, and crypto reacts quickly. Bitcoin?focused ETFs recorded net outflows of $1.7 billion in the week to January 24. Specialized ETFs saw withdrawals every single day, wiping out all the inflows recorded in the previous five?day period.

Capital flows into bitcoin ETFs

Part of the negative picture is the rapid rise in precious metals. Bitcoin has often been called "digital gold" for its ability to benefit from political or geopolitical shocks. But at present, traditional gold is outperforming the cryptocurrency by a wide margin. In 2025, gold rose 65%, and it has climbed another 17% so far in 2026. The fast?rising metal attracts speculators who previously bought BTC/USD. The result is a capital rotation from one market to another, which drives the crypto market lower.

Factors supporting precious metals are becoming bearish drivers for BTC/USD. In particular, rumors of a coordinated currency intervention by the US and Japan to weaken the dollar and strengthen the yen have catalyzed investor use of so?called debasement trades. These trades are linked to worries about rising budget deficits and public debt and undermine confidence in government bonds and the currencies in which they are denominated.

Trump's retreat from tariff threats toward Europe provided only temporary support for BTC/USD. The shift from the "sell America" trade to TACO — "Trump Always Backs Down" — favored US stocks and bonds, while the dollar and Bitcoin remained under pressure. The digital asset has increasingly been treated as an American asset due to the president's promises to make the US the world's crypto capital.

Thus, a deterioration in global risk appetite, driven primarily by uncertainty and the volatility of Donald Trump's policies, combined with the rotation of capital from crypto into precious metals is preventing Bitcoin from recovering. Investors doubt that the consolidation will end soon and are withdrawing funds from ETFs.

Technically, the daily BTC/USD chart shows a "fakeout?and?dump" pattern. Short positions opened from the middle of the consolidation range near $90,400 make sense to scale up if the lower border of the $85,000–95,000 trading channel is successfully breached.