Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, fell below $20,000 and was set to record its biggest quarterly drop in a decade as digital assets extended declines.
Bitcoin has fallen 3.9% over the past 24 hours to $19,282. That's down from $47,456 at the start of April and some 70% off its peak value reached last November. The quarterly decline of about 59% is the worst since 2011, just two years after it first launched.
The news that crypto hedge fund Three Arrows will be forced to liquidate its assets, as well as fresh comments from central bankers suggesting more interest-rate hikes are coming, cast a pall over the cryptocurrency industry. Other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Avalanche also were falling on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he remains focused on reining in the fastest inflation in four decades. Speaking at a conference in Portugal, he was backed up by similar messages from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey.
A court in the British Virgin Islands earlier this week ordered Three Arrows to be liquidated. Founded in 2012, the hedge fund at one time managed $10 billion.
Several other crypto firms also have been running into trouble. Celsius Networks has frozen most transactions. Finblox, another crypto lending platform, on June 16 capped withdrawals and noted it relied on Three Arrows for liquidity. The broker Voyager Digital this week said it had issued Three Arrows with a default notice.
Comments