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Bitcoin briefly dropped under the $80,000 level Monday, dragged by the continued selling pressure in the equities market.
The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last lower by 3% at $80,185.27, according to Coin Metrics. At its low of the day, bitcoin hit $79,162.46.
Bitcoin in the past day
Shares of companies linked to the crypto space also slid. Coinbase fell roughly 9%. Robinhood lost 13%, and bitcoin proxy play Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, declined 11%.
Bitcoin ETFs are coming off their fourth week in a row of outflows. They logged $867 million of outflows last week, bringing the four-week total to $4.75 billion, according to CoinShares. Continued bearishness pushed crypto prices even lower over the weekend, with bitcoin dropping sharply on Sunday evening to the $80,000 level for the first time since Feb. 28.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a U.S. bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile late last week, disappointing some investors. However, macro uncertainty was the key driver of the accelerated downward move Monday, after Trump over the weekend didn’t rule out the possibility of a recession in the U.S.
Absent a crypto-specific catalyst, macro concerns are likely to continue weighing on cryptocurrency prices in the near term. This week, the market will be watching for key economic indicators, including the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) Tuesday, the consumer price index on Wednesday and the producer price index slated for Thursday.
Although investors expect cryptocurrency prices are likely to pull back even more before making a run for a new record, their positive outlook on the year driven by regulatory tailwinds is still intact.
