Bitcoin lost $ 10,000 in less than an hour overnight from Friday to Saturday, or nearly 20%, before recovering a little but remained affected by the caution prevailing in the financial markets.
At around 4 p.m. GMT on Saturday, the virtual currency was trading at $ 48,210, down 10% from Friday night.
At around 5 a.m. GMT, it had suddenly dropped to $ 42,296, with no specific explanation a priori.
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“
Cryptocurrencies were rocked by the broader risk conditions attached to (the Omicron variant) and expectations of a more aggressive (US monetary policy), but really started nosing around on Friday, in the wake of the decline in equity markets
, ”commented Martha Reyes, who heads research for cryptocurrency exchange Bequant.
The main Wall Street indices actually ended in the red on Friday, driven by weakness in technology stocks.
Usual violent movements
The decline in bitcoin, used to violent movements, is not completely surprising given that the currency has been moving since the end of November in a limited trading range and that some investors may have wanted to unwind certain positions, believes Martha Reyes in a note. .
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Same feeling for Anto Paroian, of the fund specializing in cryptocurrencies ARK36.
After reaching a record at $ 68,363 on November 10, the virtual currency fell again and "
has repeatedly failed to cross the threshold of $ 60,000
", he said in a note recalling that bitcoin has regularly recorded falls from 20% to 30% before recovering.