Here’s Why Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Keep Crashing
Here’s Why Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Keep Crashing
B itcoin took a brutal fall on Monday, briefly dipping below $30,000 for the first time since July 2021. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now worth less than half of what it was in the fall. Other cryptocurrencies, like Ether and BNB, have seen similar falls, while trading volumes have also tapered off on major exchanges. Some experts are now warning of a “crypto winter,” in which the sector’s astonishing growth is replaced by an extended period of contraction.
The current slide of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is being caused by a combination of short-term and long-term inputs, including larger financial markets and the crashing of a major stablecoin. Here are some of the main factors leading to the current slump.
Bitcoin is connected to the rest of the financial market. Crypto evangelists have long hoped that the independent nature of crypto would make it resistant to inflation and crises. Bitcoin, the number one cryptocurrency, has no central issuer or authority controlling it. That independence from government, many argued, should ensure that Bitcoin would hold its value through economic dips, international wars or drastic policy changes.
But the last couple of years have proven this is false. When the coronavirus pandemic crushed global markets in March 2020, so too fell Bitcoin, falling by 57%. Stock markets and cryptocurrencies then both recovered and rose at a staggering rate, which analysts believe was caused by a combination of free time, disposable income, and pandemic-relief money pumped into the world by governments.
But lately, investors have been wary that change is in the air, as inflation led the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates. For investors looking for a safe port, Bitcoin, which swings wildly by nature, may seem too risky.
Bitcoin’s fall comes on the heels of the Dow and Nasdaq’s worst single-day declines since 2020, as well as the S&P 500 hitting its nadir in the past year. The market has been unsettled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has exacerbated inflation, supply chain issues and oil prices. Slowed growth in China amidst COVID-19 outbreaks there are also contributing to financial anxieties. Some crypto evangelists predict that Bitcoin’s price will decouple from the stock market down the road—but for now, the two are very much intertwined.
Crypto is inherently volatile. Even the biggest crypto boosters will tell you that success in the crypto world is far from guaranteed. Its volatility is part of its very appeal to many speculators: that they could make money at rates far faster than that of normal stock brokers.
But with the promise of the boom also comes that of the bust. Since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009, there have been several major bear- and bull- cycles, with short-term investors alternately flooding the market and then losing interest. Many exchanges, especially during high times, offer inherently risky propositions, allowing traders to invest with borrowed crypto . If prices start to drop, whether due to big investors selling off their shares or other reasons, a lack of actual cash flow can contribute to even faster free-falls.
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