Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies fell on Friday, with prices pressured by tensions within the digital asset industry as well as losses in broader markets.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen 6% in the past 24 hours to $20,200, with the biggest crypto falling to the lowest levels since mid-January and approaching $19,500 in a recent low. Bitcoin’s big rally to start 2023 – which saw it surge above $25,000 from $16,500 within weeks, spurring calls for a new bull market – looks vulnerable.
“There have been only negative headlines for Bitcoin and crypto this week,” said Yuya Hasegawa, an analyst at brokerage Oanda. “There is little reason to buy Bitcoin now, as the market is saturated with negative developments, not only specifically for the crypto industry, but also for the broader financial market.”
The latest catalyst for crypto’s decline has been losses in the stock market, with which Bitcoin remains largely correlated. THE
Dow Jones Industrial Average
And
S&P500
plunged on Thursday and saw further declines on Friday after big losses at SVB Financial Group (ticker: SIVB), the owner of Silicon Valley Bank, spurred a wave of selling in bank stocks that hammered broader sentiment.
A U.S. jobs report that did little to resolve the question of whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point or half a point later this month – a bigger increase would be a bigger headwind – didn’t help matters much.
Advertising – Scroll to continue
The erosion of Bitcoin’s recent support at key price levels will be particularly significant for crypto traders. This threatens to undo the gains made since the start of this year and even risks returning to the multi-year lows of late 2022.
“Bitcoin has a pending breakdown below cloud-based support around $20,300, which would be confirmed at a close below this level today. A breakout would be a medium-term bearish development, increasing the risk of down to the November 2022 low of around $15,600,” said Katie Stockton, managing partner at technical research firm Fairlead Strategies.
There are reasons to believe that the weekend could usher in more volatility.
Advertising – Scroll to continue
Liquidity in digital asset markets is at its lowest since the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November, with falling trading volumes exacerbating movements in Bitcoin’s already volatile price. There is a risk that this will increase because Silvergate Bank halted its SEN interbank transfer service, a key part of the market infrastructure, on March 3. Bitcoin trading volume last weekend was the lowest in months.
“A test weekend awaits us,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at brokerage Oanda.
Beyond bitcoin,
Ether
– the second largest crypto – fell 7% to $1,430. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were a bit better off, with
gimbal
slip 1% and
Polygon
down 2%. Memecoins were deeper in the red, with
Dogecoin
down 9% and
shiba inus
6% loss.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com