:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2209133060-924c4abb65614b0398b82b20c92f0dbd.jpg "Bitcoin Price Plummets Over ,000 in Just Six Weeks as Market Faces Growing Uncertainty")
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Key Takeaways
- The price of Bitcoin dipped below $81,000 early Friday, its lowest level since April, with the cryptocurrency’s slide leaving it on track to post a fourth straight week of declines.
- Uncertainty about an AI bubble and Federal Reserve interest rate policy has contributed to volatility in U.S. stocks recently, along with riskier assets such as crypto.
Crytocurrenies are selling off amid heightened uncertainty.
The price of Bitcoin (BTCUSD) extended its recent slide Friday, hitting a seven-month low at below $81,000. It traded recently around $83,300, leaving the world’s largest cryptocurrency on track to log its fourth straight week of declines as investors reassess their risk appetite amid broader volatility in financial markets. Bitcoin has lost about a third of its value since hitting a record high of around $125,000 on Oct. 6.
The prices of altcoins such as ether (ETHUSD) and solana (SOLUSD) tumbled along with bitcoin Friday, as did exchange-traded funds tracking the cryptocurrencies. Shares of Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, and crypto mining firm Mara Holdings (MARA) also lost ground.
Bitcoin has had just two positive days since Nov. 10, when it traded around $106,000. The cryptocurrency has tumbled in the weeks since as stocks have also declined amid concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble inflating the stock market.
Why This Matters to Investors
When markets are booming and the economy is doing well, investors may have more appetite for relatively speculative, volatile asset such as cryptocurrencies. They may pull back in favor of safer assets, such as Treasury bonds or gold, during times of heightened uncertainty, however.
Thursday’s jobs report—data for September that was delayed by the government shutdown—failed to provide clarity on the future path of interest rates that could have potentially slowed or reversed Bitcoin’s recent slide. The report showed more jobs were added than expected, while the unemployment rate also rose when it was forecast to stay roughly flat.
That combination of solid hiring and rising unemployment could add fuel to the fire of arguments both in favor and against the Fed cutting interest rates at its meeting next month, underscoring the uncertainty that is pressuring bitcoin’s price, analysts from Bitunix said.
