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Bitcoin price falls as investors pull $1 billion out of crypto
CNN London —
The price of Bitcoin The cryptocurrency has fallen nearly 9% since Thursday morning, part of a broader selloff in risk assets. A report that Elon Musk’s Space X has dumped the cryptocurrency has fueled investor fears.
According to CoinGlass, a cryptocurrency exchange, $1 billion has been lost in cryptocurrencies in the past 24 hours, with bitcoin accounting for nearly half of that loss.
The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency was trading at $26,327 early Friday, 16% below its peak this year in early July, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Thursday’s selloff, which hit stock markets as well as traditionally safer assets like government bonds, came after U.S. Federal Reserve officials expressed his concern that inflation “remains unacceptably high,” indicating that a further rate hike could be on the cards.
The Wall Street Journal reported On Thursday, SpaceX had written down the value of the bitcoin it owned by a total of $373 million last year and in 2021, and sold the cryptocurrency.
The report triggered “a panic reaction in the cryptocurrency market,” Hani Abuagla, senior market analyst at online brokerage XTB, said in a note published Friday.
Space X did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Musk has been a strong supporter of bitcoin, announcing in early 2021 that his Tesla
(TSLA) would accept payment in cryptocurrency, although he later abandoned those plans. Tesla
(TSLA) also dropped a big piece of its own bitcoin holdings last year.
The cryptocurrency market has come under pressure from U.S. regulators in recent months. In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, claims to be acting as an unregistered broker. Coinbase has denied the allegations.
The company got a lucky break this week when it won a crucial regulatory approval This will allow the platform to offer US-based investors access to crypto derivatives, which account for approximately 75% of global crypto transactions.