Bitcoin Trades Down Nearly 8%, Approaching 52-Week Lows
2022.05.09 20:45
By Daniel Shvartsman
Investing.com — Bitcoin traded down 7.6% on Monday afternoon (as of 1:20 pm ET), following up on a volatile weekend of trading. The leading cryptocurrency has reached price levels not seen since July 2021, and is now trading down 28% for the year.
While there is no specific trigger for Bitcoin’s sell-off, the broader risk-off sentiment driving stock markets and especially the Nasdaq lower, as well as the increasing treasury yields have placed pressure on assets with little or no cash flow like bitcoin.
The sell-off has spread to the broader cryptocurrency sector, with Ethereum down 8.4% to $2315, also levels last seen in July 2021. Solana is trading down 9.3%, while Cardano is down 13.6%.
Equities that trade in line with bitcoin or crypto assets are also plunging on the day. MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), run by vocal bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, is down 22.1%, while Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) is down 17.5% and Applied Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:APLD) is down 18.4%. And it’s no surprise that crypto-related ETFs and funds are also struggling, with ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE:BITO) down 11.8%, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC:GBTC) down 16.2%, VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE:XBTF) down 11.9%, and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NASDAQ:BTF) down 11.8%.
Another investor associated with bitcoin recently, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest, is also facing a downdraft today, with the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW) (including a 6.5% weight in GBTC) down 9.2%.
