Bitcoin slides below $70,000 for the first time since August
Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday for the first time since August, sinking 4% and heading for a sixth straight weekly loss as expectations of higher rates and the tech selloff sapped risk appetite.
A level held for three months gives way
Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday for the first time since August, sinking 4% and putting the crypto benchmark on track for a sixth straight weekly loss, LSEG data show, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bitcoin was last down 3.8% at $68,781, while Ethereum shed 4.3% to $1,927.
The slide extended a decline that began a day earlier. On Thursday, Bitcoin fell 1.6% to $73,370, its cheapest in nearly three months, MarketWatch reported. Ethereum was down 1.2% to $2,042 on Thursday, while shares of Bitcoin holder Strategy fell nearly 5% in premarket trading and crypto platform Coinbase dropped nearly 3%.
Higher rates and a stronger dollar
Cryptocurrencies slumped on Friday as expectations of higher rates and the technology stock selloff sapped risk appetite, the Wall Street Journal reported. The dollar index remained at around 19-month highs, continuing to pressure Asian currencies.
The downturn in sentiment was echoed in cryptocurrencies, which the Journal called a barometer of risk appetite. Ethereum crashed well past $2,000 to trade at three-month lows, and Bitcoin is now down over 21% from the highs reached in late September.
- Bitcoin on FridayDown 3.8% at $68,781
- Ether on FridayDown 4.3% to $1,927
- Bitcoin on ThursdayDown 1.6% to $73,370
- Down from late-September highsOver 21%
A bruising week for risk assets
Bitcoin's slide caps a bruising week for risk assets. The tentative rebound in Asia's bruised technology stocks faded on Friday afternoon as bearish sentiment overpowered the initial lift and uncertainty over the fallout of Jensen Huang's exit from Nvidia lingered, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The crypto benchmark is on track for a sixth straight weekly loss, and at $68,781 it sits over 21% below the highs reached in late September. Ethereum, at $1,927, trades at three-month lows.
