Bitcoin declined to its lowest since late February on Friday, extending its long-month fall as uncertainty over U.S. presidential elections and reports of Bitcoin supply from a bankrupt Tokyo-based crypto exchange impacted the market.
As of 5:36 GMT, Bitcoin fell 8.06 percent to $54,215.42, its lowest since February 26, and has lost more than 10 percent so far this week.
U.S. elections raise concerns
Bitcoin started the year strong after the launch of exchange-traded funds in the U.S., raising it to a record $73,803.25 in mid-March. However, Bitcoin has lost more than 21 percent since then. In recent months, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency faced several challenges, the most notable being recent concerns over U.S. presidential elections.
Uncertainty in the crypto market has risen as investors raise their concerns over the possibility of the new president not being as pro-crypto. Elections in France and the U.K. have also weighed on markets.
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Mt. Gox crypto exchange
Analysts also pointed to reports that Mt. Gox, the world’s leading exchange for cryptocurrencies before it went bankrupt in 2014, is repaying its creditors. That has sparked concern that Bitcoin is likely to face further downward pressure if those creditors offload their tokens. Analysts anticipate that some of the original buyers of Bitcoin will start selling a fairly big chunk of the market, which will impact prices.
However, they added that while this was a period of consolidation for the cryptocurrency after strong gains early this year, the crypto could retest its record high and likely rise towards $80,000.
Ether, another major cryptocurrency, saw a 6.16 percent decline to $2,879.33 and was down more than 22 percent from its mid-March highs.
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