Bitcoin drops most since September in broad retreat from records
BNN Bloomberg
Cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday, with Bitcoin briefly dipping below US$60,000 and Ether touching its lowest level this month, in a broad-based retreat from recent record highs.
Cryptocurrencies fell on Tuesday, with Bitcoin briefly dipping below US$60,000 and Ether touching its lowest level this month, in a broad-based retreat from recent record highs.
The largest digital token whipsawed traders, dipping as much as 8.2 per cent before cutting the decline by about half. The slide to US$58,661 was the biggest intraday drop since Sept. 24. Second-ranked Ether tumbled more than 10 per cent before also paring losses. Global crypto market cap has dropped some 10 per cent in the past 24 hours to US$2.7 trillion, according tracker CoinGecko.
“After several days of gains, which saw Bitcoin hover near it’s all-time high as many other altcoins managed to reach new highs, we are seeing a significant pullback,” said Walid Koudmani, an analyst at XTB Market. “The extreme volatility that the market is prone to could lead to a potential domino effect if more negative news were to emerge and take prices to new lows.”
Crypto-centric stocks also took a hit, with shares of Coinbase Global Inc., a crypto exchange, falling roughly 4 per cent at one point. MicroStrategy Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. and Riot Blockchain Inc. all also dropped.
Technical indicators had suggested the strong run of late across the notoriously volatile market was due for a pause.
Some analysts also attributed the dip to new tax-reporting requirements for digital currencies that are part of the US$550 billion infrastructure bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law Monday.
