Bitcoin lingers near September lows amid drop of 40% from record
BNN Bloomberg
Bitcoin traded near the lowest levels since September after an earlier swoon extended its weeks-long decline from an all-time high to about 40 per cent.
Bitcoin traded near the lowest levels since September after an earlier swoon extended its weeks-long decline from an all-time high to about 40 per cent.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value fell as much as 4.9 per cent to US$41,008 before stemming the decline during U.S. trading hours. It hit a record of almost US$69,000 on Nov. 10. Ether, the second-largest, dropped as much as 9 per cent to its lowest level since Sept. 30. Both of those tokens, as well as others including Binance Coin, Solana, Cardano and XRP are down more than 10 per cent in the past seven days, according to CoinGecko.
“Bitcoin and crypto are acting like risk assets right now,” said Callie Cox, investment analyst with eToro. “Investors are viewing Bitcoin as a play on the economic outlook, and right now that’s pretty murky.”
The retreat comes after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, published Wednesday, flagged the chance of earlier- and faster-than-expected rate hikes as well as potential balance-sheet rundown.
“The Fed’s intention to reduce the balance sheet in Q1 2022 is the primary cause of this sell-off,” Fundstrat strategists said in a note Thursday. “Unfortunately, no immediate support looks likely ahead of September 2021 lows at US$39,573, with breaks of that leading down to last summer’s May-July bottom.”
