Bitcoin (BTC-USD) looked set to register a weekly price decline, as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency lost value yet again on Friday morning.
Bitcoin was down 1.4% against the dollar in early trade to reach $33,067 (£24,042). The early weakness raised the prospect of a third straight day of price declines for bitcoin, which is now below the $34,294 mark it started the week at.
Other major cryptocurrencies were also in retreat on Friday morning. By 8.15am in London, the market had lost more than 8% of its value over the last 24 hours according to data provider CoinMarketCap.com. Ethereum (ETH-USD), the world’s second biggest cryptocurrency, was among the worst hit. The token was down 5.3% to $2,037.
Price declines come as the crypto market struggles to recapture the momentum seen earlier in the year. Bitcoin hit an all-time high above $64,000 in April but has since seen its price near half.
The record high was driven by increased institutional adoption and boosterism from the likes of Tesla’s (TSLA) Elon Musk. Stalling momentum coincided with a crackdown in China, growing concerns about bitcoin’s energy use, and waning enthusiasm from Musk.
“We enter the third quarter of 2021 at somewhat of a cross-roads for cryptocurrency in general,” Carl Capolingua, an analyst at ThinkMarkets, wrote in an outlook report published this week.
“There remain a number of high profile proponents of the space such as Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and hedge fund investor Cathy Wood, but just as many detractors including legendary stock investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger among others.
“The price of bitcoin seems to reflect this, having found a base around the $30,000 mark it has struggled to decisively break back into the $40,000’s.”
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