Bitcoin falls nearly 8% as cryptocurrency slide continues

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Bitcoin in the U.S. fell nearly 8% in a wild hour of trading Thursday afternoon, extending a day of losses that reversed most of the cryptocurrency’s gains since June.

The token price fell as low as $25,409 before recovering partially, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The wild swing in price has left the digital asset changing hands 15 percent below its July high of $31,814, echoing recent losses in stocks, bonds and other financial assets.

The sell-off coincided with a report in the Wall Street Journal that Elon Musk’s private holding company SpaceX had written down the value of its bitcoin holdings by $373 million over the past two years and sold the currency. cryptocurrency.

Digital asset traders have been watching Musk closely since 2021, when his electric car company Tesla briefly considered accepting cryptocurrency payments.

When Musk announced the plan in February of that year, bitcoin rose 15% in a single day. Tesla has also invested $1.5 billion of its own cash into the tokens.

But three months later, the cryptocurrency took a sharp turn when Musk abandoned the plan. The value of the automaker’s stake has fluctuated since then. Tesla recorded a $204 million impairment loss last year related to its bitcoin holdings.

Thursday’s volatility in bitcoin’s price comes after a hot few months for digital currency enthusiasts, with U.S. regulators responding to what Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said was “rife with fraud, scams and and abusive behavior” has been severely cracked down on.

In June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against two large cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, claiming they violated the law by selling digital tokens to the public without filing the required registrations.

The enforcement actions herald volatility for the digital asset, although the companies have denied the allegations and vowed to defend themselves in court.

Meanwhile, a strong U.S. economy has forced traders to reassess expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates soon.

Stocks and bonds have both fallen since the Federal Reserve last month raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in 22 years, while leaving room for further rate hikes this year.