Bitcoin led a market-wide sell-off Thursday night Asia time by losing almost 8% coming into business hours Friday Asia time, and was trading at US$40,578 at press time.
See related article: Is Bitcoin’s rocky start to 2022 a sign of things to come?
Fast facts
- All other major tokens were down around the same amount, with Ethereum falling 8% over 24 hours to trade at US$2,897 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap.
- Decentralized finance (DeFi) darling Terra was among the biggest losers, trading down as much as 12% to sit at US$50.63 at press time.
- Tech stocks on the Nasdaq also had a poor day, with Nasdaq’s 100 Tech sector index closing down 4.2% leading into Asian business hours.
- Rising military tensions between Russia and Ukraine has continued to drive uncertainty across markets as the U.S. warns Russia may conduct a false flag operation as a pretext for invasion after seemingly looking to draw back from the conflict earlier in the week.
- Asia is also facing uncertainty this week with Hong Kong set to test the entire city amid rising Covid-19 cases and strict restrictions.
See related article: Bitcoin and Ethereum prices soar to new all-time highs, crypto market now worth $3 trillion