Bitcoin and Ether Reach Months Lows Due to Recession Concerns
Bitcoin dropped to $51,091, marking its lowest point since late February, before recovering slightly to $54,112. Ether fell to $2,200, its weakest level since mid-January, reflecting a 16% decline.
Bitcoin fell below $55,000, and ether dropped under $2,400 on Monday, amid a broad crypto market selloff. Investors reacted to various news events, including macroeconomic updates, asset movements by Jump Crypto and potential U.S. recession sparked a rush towards safer assets, leading to a broad selloff in the financial markets.
Bitcoin has plummeted to its lowest point since February, currently trading at $51,698, having briefly fallen below $49,510. Ether has experienced a substantial decline as well, shedding 19.45% of its value to trade at $2,333. Other leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization have also taken hits, with BNB down 12.88% and XRP falling 13.38%. In total, the cryptocurrency market has decreased by 10% in the last 24 hours.
The sell-off in the global stock market has extended to Japan, with the Nikkei 225 and Topix indices dropping approximately 7% in the morning session, approaching bear market territory following the Bank of Japan's increase in its key interest rate.
Over the weekend, Jump Crypto, the cryptocurrency division of Jump Trading, transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets, such as ether and USDT. This action sparked speculation that the company might be liquidating its cryptocurrency holdings due to an investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). "Amid rumors of a potential exit from the cryptocurrency business due to a CFTC investigation, Jump Trading has been moving ETH to a centralized exchange," Analyst Min Jung of Presto Research.
Despite earlier gains this year, supported by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of a spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded fund, the recent downturn indicates increasing investor caution amid economic uncertainties.
