For the first time in its history, Bitcoin has witnessed seven straight weeks of losses. This comes amid a downturn in broader markets, stricter crypto regulations, rising retail interest and systemic risks in the crypto sector, as per a report in CoinDesk.
Bitcoin neared the $47,000 level in mid-March in a run that lasted a couple of weeks after a fall to $37,000 from November 2021¡¯s lifetime highs of nearly $69,000.?
Since mid-March, bitcoin has slid every week and could fall to as low as $20,000 if current market conditions continue, as per a CoinDesk report.
Bitcoin, which is the world¡¯s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been long positioned as a hedge against inflation, or an investment that is supposed to protect against the decreased purchasing power of currencies or other assets.
But that has failed to happen so far, however, as bitcoin is highly correlated with global markets and has traded similar to risky technology stocks in the past few months.?
Last week, bitcoin fell to as low as $24,000 as stablecoin tether (USDT) briefly lost its peg to the U.S. dollar. Sentiment among investors was already reeling from the implosion of Terra¡¯s LUNA and its stablecoin terraUSD (UST).
As per the CoinDesk report, inflation concerns have contributed to bitcoin¡¯s fall in the past several weeks. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates by the largest amount since 2000.
Currently. Bitcoin was hovering just above the $30,400 mark at the time of writing this report, as per data on Coinmarketcap.
Also Read:?Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Says Bitcoin Will Replace The US Dollar
Last week, the $18.3 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which is the world's largest bitcoin fund, saw its market discount widen to an all-time low of 30.79%, as per CoinDesk. The discount could be taken as a bearish indicator because it might mean a waning interest in bitcoin among traders.?
Former CEO Of US Bank Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, reportedly said over the weekend that the U.S. economy was at a ¡°very, very high risk.¡± Such an environment could cause a drawdown in U.S. equities, which may spread to bitcoin and cause further sell-offs in the coming weeks if the current correlation continues.
Also Read:?Meet The Dutch 'Bitcoin Family' Who Emigrated To 'Bitcoin Heaven' Portugal For Tax-Free Crypto
For the?latest financial news,?keep reading Indiatimes Worth.?Click here.