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Crypto plunge wipes off $130 billion in a day

Bitcoin plunged almost nine per cent on Monday to its lowest in six months as fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine saw riskier assets worldwide extend their sell-off

Published: Mon 24 Jan 2022, 5:45 PM

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A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration. The largest cryptocurrency was trading down 8.8 per cent at $33,058, its lowest since July 23, taking losses from its all-time high of $69,000 hit in November past 50 per cent. — File photo

A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration. The largest cryptocurrency was trading down 8.8 per cent at $33,058, its lowest since July 23, taking losses from its all-time high of $69,000 hit in November past 50 per cent. — File photo

The cryptocurrency market saw up to $130 billion wiped off its value over the last 24 hours as major digital coins continued their multi-day sell-off.

Bitcoin plunged almost nine per cent on Monday to its lowest in six months as fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine saw riskier assets worldwide extend their sell-off.

The largest cryptocurrency was trading down 8.8 per cent at $33,058, its lowest since July 23, taking losses from its all-time high of $69,000 hit in November past 50 per cent.

Ether plunged seven per cent to $2,239.08, its lowest level since late July, and Binance Coin, the fourth-biggest token that is issued by the eponymous crypto exchange, was down 12 per cent, according to Coin Metrics.

The movements in cryptocurrencies follow those of stocks, which have continued to fall since the beginning of the year and just came off of their worst week since March 2020.

Investors have been selling risk assets like technology stocks as they prepare for tighter monetary policy from the US Federal Reserve and higher interest rates.

Over $1 trillion has been wiped from the aggregate crypto market's value since November's highs turned into deep sighs.

“Bitcoin will face headwinds going back up until the macroeconomic conditions change,” said Mark Elenowitz, president of Horizon, a firm that services securities exchanges.

“Generally speaking, when rates are hiked, we could see more sell-offs of seemingly risk-on assets like Bitcoin.”

Vijay Ayyar, an analyst, said that if Bitcoin holds above $30,000 on a longer time frame such as one week, then there could be a base formed at those levels before the market moves higher. It could be some time for the market to turn bullish given the lack of confidence across the spectrum.

Some analysts see $30,000 as the next level of support for the cryptocurrency to test. However, analyst John Roque of 22V Research said bitcoin could fall even further. He said he too has been using $30,000 as a target but noted that the median historical bear market for bitcoin is down 78 per cent.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com



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