Last week’s rough stretch for cryptocurrencies continued on Monday as Bitcoin sank below $53K, its lowest since February, and Ether continued its worst decline since 2021. Most other crypto coins saw major drops as well.
Investors have taken notice of the softening economy data and possible recession in the U.S. and are steering to lower-risk assets while the geopolitical tension also played a role in dealing a blow to the crypto market.
Bitcoin’s free-fall started last Monday and continued throughout the week, losing around $14,000 of its value for a drop of 20%. It was the worst weekly performance for the world’s most valuable coin since the crypto exchange FTX collapsed in late 2022.
Early on Monday, Bitcoin sank all the way to $50K from its Sunday price of $58K at one point before slightly rebounding.
Ether, on the other hand, lost 30% of its value in the past week, marking the worst weekly decline for the cryptocurrency since 2021. It went from trading at around $3,300 to now being priced at $2,320.
“It’s a big reminder that bitcoin and crypto in general are risk assets and sit at the pointy end of the risk spectrum,” Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, told Reuters.