Bitcoin and ethereum lead sell-off in cryptocurrencies as Russia-Ukraine tensions continue to dampen spirits
- Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies broadly slid Friday as worries about a Russian invasion of Ukraine persisted.
- The risk aversion held in the market even as US stock futures rose on plans for diplomatic talks.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies broadly were in the red on Friday as worries about a Russian invasion of Ukraine persisted, despite the prospect of diplomatic talks.
Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin was down 5.6% over the last 24 hours, dipping below $41,000 to trade at $40,875, according to CoinMarketCap data. Second-place ethereum was down about 4.1%, dipping below the $3,000 mark to hit $2,932.
Altcoins fell in tandem with the market leaders. Terra luna was down 6.86% at $51.70, while polygon lost 4.62% to reach $1.71, according to CoinMarketCap.
Cryptocurrencies have increasingly tracked moves in US tech stocks in 2022 so far. On Friday, though, they were not trading in line with the gains in US stock futures, which came after the US and Russia said they planned to hold talks over the Ukraine crisis.
Budd White, cofounder of crypto exchange Tacen, said it is difficult to assess whether bitcoin will rise or fall if war breaks out in Europe. In part, this is because adoption levels are rising fast, among nation states and big institutional investors in particular, he added.
"So it's possible traditional markets dip and yet, because of this rising adoption, bitcoin goes in the other direction," White said.
"It's tough to say, but the crypto world is entering uncharted territory — so it's good to be both optimistic as well as a tad cautious."
Read more: A former hedge-fund trader's AI platform predicts bitcoin returns will crush ethereum by 33% over the next 3 months. He explains how users of the service are beating the average stock-market investor by 18%.
Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value, is down 39% from its record November high of almost $69,000, and some strategists are taking a more cautious tone on the prospects for the crypto market in coming years. Stifel's Barry Bannister said this week that bitcoin could plummet 76% by 2023, as a result of macro headwinds.
The three macro factors are bitcoin as a function of global money supply; as a function of the real 10-year yield, gold price and oil price; and finally, as a function of how far the Federal Reserve can go before cracking stocks.