Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tumbled Friday, with prices under pressure from stresses within the digital asset industry as well as losses in wider markets. The U.S. jobs report due Friday looms as a key catalyst that could drive further declines.
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and other cryptocurrencies tumbled Friday, with prices under pressure from stresses within the digital asset industry as well as losses in wider markets. The U.S. jobs report due Friday looms as a key catalyst that could drive further declines.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen 8% over the past 24 hours to $19,825, with the largest crypto dropping to the lowest levels since mid-January. Bitcoin’s big rally to start 2023—which saw it climb above $25,000 from $16,500 in a matter of weeks, spurring calls of a new bull market—looks vulnerable to giving back its gains.
“There has been nothing but negative headlines for Bitcoin and crypto this week,” said Yuya Hasegawa, an analyst at broker Oanda. “There is just little reason to buy Bitcoin now as the market is saturated with negative developments, not just specifically for the crypto industry, but also for the wider financial market as well.”
The latest catalyst driving cryptos lower has been losses across the stock market, with which Bitcoin remains largely correlated. The
and
plunged on Thursday and were poised for more declines on Friday after massive losses at
(ticker: SIVB) spurred a wave of selling across bank stocks that hammered wider sentiment.
It has the potential to get even more volatile, with the jobs report for February due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Amid worries over higher interest rates—which have weighed on cryptos and stocks alike in recent days—the key labor market indicator is likely to be a deciding factor for the Federal Reserve’s next move on rates later this month. Data that are hotter-than-expected could firm up bets that the Fed will step back up to a 50-basis-point rate hike on March 22 and may see further selling.
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Beyond Bitcoin,
—the second-largest crypto—lost 9% to $1,390. Smaller cryptos ot altcoins were unspared, with
crumbling 4.5% and
retreating 8%. Memecoins were even deeper in the red, with
down 11% and
shedding 10%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
