Violent fall of bitcoin towards $60,000: should we be worried?

The queen of cryptocurrencies lost more than 15% of its value in one week, after reaching a historic high above $73,000.

Bitcoin continues to descend from its highs. At 6:30 a.m. French time this Wednesday March 20, bitcoin fell below $61,000, plunging towards its symbolic threshold of $60,000.

Despite a slight rise, the queen of cryptocurrencies is down 15% over a week, after passing above 73,000 dollars. Bitcoin is plunging the crypto market into the red, particularly weakening the 10 main cryptocurrencies by capitalization. Over a week, ether, the second most capitalized cryptocurrency on the market, lost 20% and other altcoins (these cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin) showed record declines, like cardano (-21%) or even dogecoin (-24%) according to Coingecko.

Sorties d’ETF bitcoin spot

This drop in prices coincides, in part, with record outflows on spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States. Tuesday March 19, the funds saw $326.2 million in outflows, a record since their launch, specifies The Block.

On January 10, the American stock market watchdog (the SEC) has authorized 11 spot bitcoin ETFs, offered in particular by asset managers like Blackrock and Fidelity. An ETF (or Exchange Traded Funds) is an index fund trading on a stock exchange which follows the evolution of a stock index (or one or more financial or physical assets, such as gold) by replicating the increase as well as the drop in the price of this index (or these assets).

Setbacks of up to 30%

Should we be worried about this situation? “Historically, we have seen declines or pullbacks of up to 30% during bitcoin bull markets,” said Simon Peters, market analyst at Etoro, in a note.

“The question now is whether the price has fallen enough for investors to buy the dip, or whether the price action could prolong its decline,” he said.

Furthermore, while the Federal Reserve holds its second day of meeting this Wednesday, the price of bitcoin could suffer further shocks. The volatility of bitcoin should not make us forget its surge since the start of the year, thanks to spot bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin has increased 50% since the beginning of January, including 20% ​​in the past month. Such a rapid rise in assets can also turn into an equally impressive decline. Investors should remain cautious and should only invest in bitcoin what they are willing to lose.