First American News LLC, Raleigh, NC: Bitcoin traded near the lowest levels since September after an earlier swoon extended its weeks-long decline from an all-time high to about 40%, said Gaby Mendoza of MB Daily News.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value fell as much as 4.9% to $41,008 before stemming the decline during U.S. trading hours. It hit a record of almost $69,000 on Nov. 10. Ether, the second-largest, dropped as much as 9% to its lowest level since Sept. 30. Both of those tokens, as well as others including Binance Coin, Solana, Cardano and XRP are down more than 10% in the past seven days, according to CoinGecko.
“Bitcoin and crypto are acting like risk assets right now,” said Callie Cox, investment analyst with eToro. “Investors are viewing Bitcoin as a play on the economic outlook, and right now that’s pretty murky.”
The retreat comes after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, published Wednesday, flagged the chance of earlier- and faster-than-expected rate hikes as well as potential balance-sheet rundown.
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