Bitcoin sank to its lowest level since the outset of the Iran conflict as renewed clashes in the Middle East weighed on wider market sentiment.
The original cryptocurrency fell more than 5% to below $62,000 in early Singapore trading on Thursday, its lowest level since Feb. 6. The losses extend a bruising week that has seen the token shed about 16% of its value, a slide that began after Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. sold about $2.5 million of its giant Bitcoin holdings.
Over the past few years, Strategy has become one of the largest purchasers of Bitcoin, making its stock a proxy for the token through a so-called digital asset treasury model in which it buys and holds crypto. The market took it as a negative sign when Saylor decided to sell some of the company’s billions of dollars in holdings, even after the executive signaled last month the possibility that the company could start to sell.
“Bitcoin price is down this week as Strategy broke its ‘never sell’ vow that shattered the confidence of the market,” said Josh Du, chief investment officer at Animoca Brands. “With oil climbing into a tightening macroeconomic situation, we see real risk that Bitcoin may fall below the $62,000 floor that’s held since the Iran war.”
