In the last five days, Bitcoin prices have dropped by close to 10% to a near three month low.
On Friday, the cryptocurrency slumped as much as 5% on Friday, January 7, to its lowest since late September.
Since November, when Bitcoin touched a record high of $69,000, the cryptocurrency has lost more than 40%. The volatility that has plagued Bitcoin since its inspection 13 years ago apparently remains stubbornly present.
One of the major reasons behind the fall is the broader sell-off for cryptocurrencies driven by concerns about tighter US monetary policy. The cryptocurrency was trading at about $41,704 on the back of US payrolls data fuelled some bargain buying, Reuters reported.
Kazakhstan’s internet shutdown
Another reason behind the fall of Bitcoin prices is the network blackout in Kazakhstan. The country has a fast-growing cryptocurrency mining, and the shutdown of Kazakhstan’s internet is hurting the digital coin’s valuation.
Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy action
The digital cryptocurrency has also been under pressure after the US Federal Reserve meeting that discussed taking more aggressive policy action, sapping investor appetite for riskier assets, according to a Reuters report.
“We are seeing broad risk-off sentiment across all markets currently as inflationary concerns and rate hikes appear to be at the forefront of speculators’ minds,” said Matthew Dibb, COO of Singapore crypto platform Stack Funds.
Multi-million dollar Bitcoin scam in Pakistan
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has issued a notice to a popular cryptocurrency exchange, while investigating a multi-million dollar scam linked to fraudulent online investment mobile applications.
“An order of attendance has been issued to Hamza Khan, the general manager/growth analyst at Binance Pakistan, to explain his position on the company’s linkage to “fraudulent online investment mobile applications,” an FIA Cyber Wing (Sindh) press release said.