Bitcoin is off to its worst annual start since the dawn of crypto

Bitcoin dipped below US$40,000 for the first time since September, putting it on pace for its worst start to a year since the earliest days of the digital alternative to money.

Bitcoin dipped below US$40,000 for the first time since September, putting it on pace for its worst start to a year since the earliest days of the digital alternative to money. 

The original cryptocurrency bounced off the lows of the day after falling as much as 6 per cent to US$39,774 in New York trading, bringing its loss this year to about 14 per cent. The decline is the largest for a start of the year since at least 2012. It has slumped more than 40 per cent since reaching an all-time high of almost US$69,000 in early November.

“It has had a pretty shocking start to 2022,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. “There’s a lot going on. We know that Bitcoin is volatile but even for Bitcoin, we’re seeing some really big moves.”

Bitcoin, created in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis by an anonymous individual or group that went by Satoshi Nakamoto, has still gained almost 500 per cent since the end of 2019. It first began trading in 2009 and pricing information from during the early days is limited.

The COVID-19 pandemic helped Bitcoin break further into the mainstream as institutions and retail investors got involved with the crypto market and its ancillary projects while governments and central banks provided record amounts of stimulus. Now that the Federal Reserve has turned more hawkish, riskier assets like stocks and digital assets have suffered.

“Cryptocurrencies are likely to remain under pressure as the Fed reduces its liquidity injections,” said Jay Hatfield, chief executive of Infrastructure Capital Advisors. “Bitcoin could end 2022 below US$20,000.”