Crypto Pessimism Grows with Bitcoin Falling Back Below $17,000

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Bitcoin fell back below $17,000 and several smaller cryptocurrencies called altcoins saw much larger declines as concern grew that the digital asset market’s woes are far from over.

The largest token fell 3.7% to $16,762 on Friday. Earlier in the week, bitcoin hit its highest price since Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire filed for bankruptcy last month. On Friday, Ether was down 6.3%, while other altcoins like Avalanche and Solana also fell.

Cryptocurrencies plunged alongside US stocks as the economy resists aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve. The drop reverses a brief relief rally that pared some of the token’s losses in November. Since the start of the year, bitcoin is down around 65%.

Fairlead Strategies senior analyst Will Tamplin said the token is likely to edge closer to its November lows. Then, it dropped to its lowest price since November 2020.

Noelle Acheson, author of the “Crypto is Macro Now” newsletter, wrote that investors remain nervous about the fate of other crypto-related companies, including Binance Holdings Ltd. and Digital Currency Group, parent company of struggling crypto broker Genesis. Binance’s BNB token was down 6.3% on Friday and has fallen around 50% in the past year.

“There may still be bad news about the contagion,” Acheson wrote. “But most of the investors who were going to sell did.”

Shares of companies related to the world of digital assets continued to be under pressure. Coinbase Global Inc., fell 9% to $34.71, another all-time low. Shares of the largest US crypto exchange fell 85%. Bitcoin Marathon Digital miners fell almost 85%, while Riot Blockchain fell 6%. They are down 88% and 83%, respectively, since last December.

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.

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