Bitcoin price today: Cryptocurrency fluctuates around $50,000-mark

Bitcoin price today: Cryptocurrency swung between gains and losses around the $50,000 level. Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Shiba Inu were also in a state of flux.

By:BLOOMBERG
| Updated on: Aug 21 2022, 22:33 IST
Bitcoin price today
Bitcoin price today: The cryptocurrency fluctuated as traders sought direction in the wake of one of the biggest one-day selloffs this year. (iStock)

Bitcoin price swung between gains and losses around the $50,000 level as traders sought direction in the wake of one of the biggest one-day selloffs this year.  The largest cryptocurrency by market value turned positive after earlier declining as much as 3.7% to $48,685. Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Shiba Inu tokens also fluctuated. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index edged higher after slumping as much as 2.2%. 

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dove this weekend amid a greater risk-off sentiment that also encompassed selloffs in many areas of the U.S. stock market. It happened as spiking inflation is forcing central banks to tighten monetary policy, threatening to reduce the liquidity tailwind that lifted a wide range of assets. Bitcoin tumbled as much as 21% on Saturday.

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After a record-breaking run this year, digital assets are the “top contender” for a “major correction” in 2022, with nearly three-quarters of institutions polled saying they're not an appropriate investment for most retail investors, according to a survey done for Natixis Investment Managers. The combined total of assets managed by respondents clocks in at $12.3 trillion. 

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Dire predictions for its demise have been a constant for Bitcoin since its debut a little more than a decade ago. Most have been to little avail. Since breaking into the mainstream consciousness, Bitcoin has jumped more than 5,000% over the past five years.

The fall in Bitcoin prices for three straight weeks hints at a rally in the offing, according to an analysis of data compiled by Bloomberg.

The signal occurred 15 times in the last five years and rewarded dip buyers with returns of 39% in the ensuing three months and 225% in the next 12 months, the analysis shows.

Dollar slips as Omicron worries ease; Aussie rises

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar slipped against several of its major counterparts on Wednesday, as easing concerns about the economic hit from the Omicron COVID-19 variant helped support riskier currencies, with the Australian dollar on pace to notch a third straight session of gains.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, slipped 0.2% to 96.06. The index remains close to the 16-month high hit late last month.

"Concerns about Omicron appear to be fading slightly, particularly as increasing – albeit unconfirmed – data emerges pointing to infections caused by the new variant being milder than previously thought," Michael Brown, senior analyst at payments firm Caxton, said in a note.

Investors' appetite for riskier assets improved this week amid reports that people infected with the Omicron variant in South Africa had only shown mild symptoms.

Preliminary evidence indicates that the new variant likely has a higher degree of transmissibility but is less severe, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.

Commodity-linked currencies, including the Australian dollar, were the main beneficiaries of the improved risk sentiment.

The Aussie dollar was 0.5% higher at $0.7152, its highest level in a week.

The recent move by China - a major Australian trading partner - to stimulate its slowing economy was also supportive of the Australian currency, Caxton's Brown said.

The Canadian dollar was largely unchanged after the Bank of Canada held its key overnight interest rate at 0.25%, as expected, and maintained its guidance that a first hike could come as soon as April 2022.

The Norwegian crown rose about 1.5% against the U.S. dollar, helped by an improved risk sentiment and steady oil prices.

The pound fell 0.4% to a 2021 low and British stocks briefly sank into negative territory on Wednesday after reports that the UK government was set to announce new COVID-19 restrictions prompted investors to dump riskier assets.

Bitcoin continued to recover after Saturday's sharp and sudden plunge. On Wednesday, it was up 0.73% at $50,893.08, as the U.S. Congress hears from top executives from six cryptocurrency firms on the need to tread lightly in imposing new rules on digital assets.

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First Published Date: 08 Dec, 23:44 IST
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