Scott Bessent Drops In On Bitcoin Bar, BTC Drops Beneath $83K

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a shock go to to the grand opening of the Bitcoin bar PubKey in Washington, DC, yesterday, sparking optimism within the crypto group at the same time as BTC slumped greater than 9% to under $83k.

The go to by such a distinguished authorities official was considered as a lift for Bitcoin, reflecting rising mainstream acceptance of the asset.

Steve Lubka, the president of investor relations at Nakamoto, mentioned that the Treasury Secretary’s look on the bar is the “signal” that merchants and buyers “have been ready for.” 

“Having the Secretary of the Treasury on the Pubkey DC launch looks as if a second I’ll look again on and say, ‘wow, it was all so apparent,’” added Try CIO Ben Werkman on X. 

Needed to do a second purchase in the present day utilizing my “it was so apparent” framework.

Having the Secretary of the Treasury on the Pubkey DC launch looks as if a second I might simply look again on and say “wow, it was all so apparent”.

Stack Sats and chill. https://t.co/8uPWEqLJ9y pic.twitter.com/Dew1A4gkFZ

— Ben Werkman (@BenWerkman) November 21, 2025

Bitcoiners together with analyst Fred Krueger, Gemini Chief of Employees Jeff Tiller, Bitcoin podcaster Natalie Brunell, and Bitcoin Coverage Institute co-founder David Zell additionally commented on Bessent’s go to, viewing it as a plus for the main crypto.

Bitcoin Beneath Stress

However Bessent’s go to got here at a time of maximum strain on the crypto market, with Bitcoin now down greater than 33% from its all-time excessive in early October, and on a day when the market was hit by greater than $1.92 billion in liquidations, in line with CoinGlass. 

Bullish bets for Bitcoin took the toughest hit, with greater than $508 million worn out from these positions within the final hour. 

Crypto market liquidations (Supply: CoinGlass)

Bitcoin plunged to as little as $82,082.84 earlier in the present day, however has pared losses to commerce at $82,342.37 as of 4:26 a.m. EST. The broader crypto market adopted Bitcoin’s lead, with total market capitalization slipping over 7% up to now 24 hours. 

Bessent Seen As Professional-Crypto

Bessent has been seen by the digital asset group as crypto-friendly since his nomination for Treasury Secretary in late 2024. 

He has beforehand echoed remarks made by President Donald Trump that the US needs to be the world’s crypto capital. Bessent has additionally backed a number of of this yr’s crypto payments, which incorporates the GENIUS Act.

In August, Bessent confirmed that the Treasury was exploring budget-neutral mechanisms for buying Bitcoin for Trump’s proposed strategic BTC reserve. 

Extra just lately, on Oct. 31, Bessent praised the Bitcoin community’s resiliency 17 years after Satoshi Nakamoto launched the white paper. 

17 years after the white paper, the Bitcoin community continues to be operational and extra resilient than ever. Bitcoin by no means shuts down.@SenateDems might study one thing from that.

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 31, 2025

“Bitcoin by no means shuts down,” he mentioned, earlier than including that Senate Democrats can “study one thing from that.” 

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