Bitcoin’s value continued to decline over the weekend, falling below $34,000, according to the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.
Since its high in November last year, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value has dropped by half.
The decline in the value of digital assets coincides with a slump in stock markets around the world in recent days.
Some Asian markets fell again on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei index falling by approximately 2.5 percent.
With a market capitalization of $636 billion, Bitcoin represents almost a third of the cryptocurrency market.
Ethereum, second largest cryptocurrency, has also dropped in value, losing more than 10% in the last week.
Although the cryptocurrency market was relatively quiet for much of 2022, volatile trading in digital assets was not unheard of in prior years.
Individual individuals dominated trading for years, but professional investors like hedge funds and money managers have recently entered the market.
Cryptocurrencies have increasingly mirrored the swings of global stock markets as more traditional investors trade digital assets. Many institutional investors who purchase cryptocurrencies do so as risk assets, comparable to technology stocks.
Traditional investors will typically sell riskier assets and move their money into safer investments during periods of market instability.
Central banks around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, hiked interest rates last week in a bid to combat rising prices.
The Federal Reserve of the United States boosted its key lending rate by half a percentage point, the largest increase in more than two decades.
This has increased market concerns that inflation and increasing borrowing costs will have a significant impact on global economic development.
Investors are also concerned about the global economic implications of the Ukraine conflict.
