%20(3).png){kind=small}
![TFD [LOGO] (10).png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bea252_c1775b2fb69c4411abe5f0d27e15b130~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_150,y_143,w_1221,h_1193/fill/w_179,h_176,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/TFD%20%5BLOGO%5D%20(10).png)
BITCOIN SUFFERS WORST WEEKLY DROP SINCE MARCH
- By The Financial District
- Feb 27, 2021
- 2 min read
Bitcoin’s rally hit a speed bump as the world’s largest cryptocurrency witnessed its worst weekly decline in almost a year amid wider losses in risk assets, Eric Lam and Olivia Raimonde reported for Bloomberg News.
The digital token slumped 20% this week, the most since the pandemic-fueled selloff last March. The wider Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, tracking Bitcoin, Ether and three other cryptocurrencies, was down 23% for the same period.
Bitcoin fell 5% to trade at $45,672 as of 5:00 p.m. in New York, according to consolidated pricing compiled by Bloomberg. “It is a market that was ridiculously overbought and will probably be so once again in the not-too-distant future,” Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA Europe, said in a note Friday.
The rough patch for Bitcoin comes amid increased volatility in global markets, as a surge in bond yields heralds growing expectations that growth and inflation are moving higher and forcing traders to reevaluate their positions across multiple asset classes.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped the most since October this week as stocks like Tesla Inc. and Peloton Interactive Inc. slumped. “Risk-on assets are taking a hit at the moment -- we’re seeing stocks slide and crypto is following,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific for cryptocurrency exchange Luno in Singapore.
“The dollar is strengthening, which is a good indication to expect a slide in Bitcoin and crypto." Bitcoin’s weakness in the face of market gyrations raises questions about its efficacy as a store of value and hedge against inflation, a key argument among proponents of its stunning rally over the past year.
Detractors have maintained the digital asset’s surge is a speculative bubble and it’s destined for a repeat of the 2017 boom and bust. While Bitcoin is often touted as the new “digital gold,” the yellow metal is winning out at the moment with spot gold trading at $1,734 per ounce, down about 3% for the week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is up 0.9% in the same period, its strongest gain since October.
