Bitcoin Falls 48% as Mainstream Crypto Boom Fails
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- Urban Institute reported on July 9 that only 9% of Americans own crypto, down from 17% who ever owned it — meaning nearly half of all U.S. crypto investors have exited the market
- Bitcoin has fallen from around $125,000 in October 2025 to about $65,000 in late July 2026, a roughly 48% decline the source ties to investors fleeing the asset
- Donald Trump signed a 2025 executive order calling for federal digital asset regulation and a national cryptocurrency stockpile, and his family businesses earned $1.4 billion from crypto projects that year, per the New York Times
- Federal regulators approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, and Trump's Labor Department proposed a rule this year easing barriers to adding crypto and other alternatives to retirement plans
- Federal Reserve survey data shows crypto adoption may have peaked in 2021 at 12% of Americans, with only 10% using it in 2025 — compared with roughly 62% of Americans who own stocks
- Current crypto investors surveyed by Urban Institute cited diversification (45%), interest in new technology (37%), and belief in digital currency's future (27%), while former investors said they stopped because they were losing money
- Morningstar's Amy Arnott recommended a portfolio weighting of 5% or less in crypto, writing it is 'nearly impossible to pin down what its underlying value should be,' and many investors may want to skip it altogether
Why it matters: A 48% Bitcoin price collapse combined with nearly half of American crypto investors cashing out suggests Trump's 'crypto capital' campaign and the ETF/retirement-access pipeline have not converted hype into durable retail ownership. With roughly 62% of Americans owning stocks versus 9% holding crypto, federal regulators now face pressure over whether to advance the Labor Department's proposed crypto-in-401(k) rule.
