Bitcoin turns negative for 2026 despite Trump softening Greenland rhetoric

A brief relief rally in crypto markets faded on Wednesday as prices resumed their decline, despite President Donald Trump seeking to ease geopolitical concerns over Greenland.

Bitcoin slipped below $87,586 during midday U.S. trading, leaving the cryptocurrency negative for the year. The token was down about 3% over the past 24 hours, after briefly climbing back above $90,000 earlier in the session.

The short-lived bounce followed Trump’s remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he said the U.S. had no intention of taking Greenland by force and expressed optimism about the eventual passage of a crypto market structure bill. Markets, however, quickly reversed course.

Losses extended across major digital assets, with ether, XRP and Solana also trading lower.

Traditional markets held up better by comparison, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 maintaining modest gains despite pulling back from earlier highs. Meanwhile, safe-haven demand remained strong, with gold rising another 1.5% to a fresh record above $4,800 per ounce. Silver was little changed after hitting a record high on Tuesday.

Risk assets have been pressured by escalating tensions between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland, alongside a sharp sell-off in Japan’s government bond market earlier this week. Although Japanese bonds and equities recovered modestly on Wednesday, the impact continued to reverberate across global markets.

Crypto and macro investor Arthur Hayes warned that the surge in Japanese government bond yields could serve as the trigger for a broader global risk-off move, calling it “the match” that could ignite further market stress.