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Bitcoin Tumbles to $43K, Lowest in Three Weeks

Some analysts worry that rising bond yields might prompt the Federal Reserve to tighten historically loose monetary policy, prompting a correction in assets perceived as risky.

By Bradley Keoun

Updated Feb 10, 2023, 2:48 p.m. Published Feb 28, 2021, 5:34 p.m.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 5.4% to about $43,000, its lowest level in three weeks.

The price move appears to be a continuation of last week's trend, when bitcoin fell amid concerns that rising U.S. Treasury bond yieldshttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-28/traders-on-yield-watch-in-bond-markets-not-for-faint-hearted/ might prompt the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy sooner rather than later to keep inflation from rising out of control. Analysts have said such a move could prompt a sell-off in risky assets, including stocks and bitcoin.
Bitcoin failed to get a lift last week from ostensibly bullish news, including Coinbase's march toward a public stock listing and a report from JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, arguing that investors could allocate 1% of their portfolios to the largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin is down 24% in the seven days through Sunday, the worst weekly performance since March 2020. Prices have declined on six of the past seven days.
Latest retreat trims bitcoin's gain in February to 31%. Year to date, the cryptocurrency is up 50%.
Digital-asset markets were in the red across the board. Ether (ETH) hit a low of $1,305, down about 8%, while Cardano’s ADA token – a big winner for the week – shed 17% from an all-time high of $1.48 and is now trading around $1.21, according to the CoinDesk 20.
"This is still a dip buyer's market," Matt Blom, head of sales and trading for the digital-asset exchange firm Equos, wrote on Sunday. "Profit taking has led to liquidations, which has led to more profit taking. $41,800 will be the first test" on the downside. "The next level is $38,100."
"On the upside, a close above $45,000 will change the theme. $48,200 will be the first target to be chased down, and back above $50,000, everyone will forget last week ever happened and will be shouting for a return to the all-time highs," Blom wrote.
"The question now for BTC in the medium-term is whether the HODLers can withstand a further drawdown and at which point the longs will start to feel the pain," cryptocurrency trading firm QCP Capital wrote Sunday in Telegram channel.

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Read More: The Future of Bitcoin: 12 Scenarios From Bullish to Bearish

- CoinDesk's Daniel Kuhn contributed to this report.

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Bradley Keoun

Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.