Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies were in retreat on Thursday, falling amid a wide selloff in risk-sensitive assets after cryptos initially gained following a Fitch downgrade of the U.S. credit rating that slammed markets.
The price of
Bitcoin
has shed more than 1% over the past 24 hours, falling to just above $29,000 and moving further from the range between the psychologically important $30,000 level and $31,000 that has provided the largest crypto with support for months.
“Bitcoin has managed to avoid accelerating the selloff, but it looks like it’s only a matter of time before it does,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro.
Bitcoin rose on Wednesday after the Fitch downgrade of U.S. debt—briefly topping $30,000 as crypto bulls pointed at principles of deteriorating confidence in the financial system and decentralized alternatives—but has since fallen back. The move lower in digital assets corresponds to a slide in the stock market, where the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
tumbled on Wednesday and were set for more declines on Thursday as Treasury yields popped higher.
Bitcoin is flirting with key technical levels below its 50-day moving average, near $29,500, and is at risk of further declines. The next support level for token is at the rising 200-day moving average of $26,700 with long-term secondary support near $25,200, wrote Katie Stockton, managing partner at technical research firm Fairlead Strategies, in a note this week.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—dropped 1.5% to $1,830. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were weaker, with
Cardano
crumbling 4% and
Polygon
slipping 2%. Memecoins exhibited more of the same, with
Dogecoin
down 4% and
Shiba Inu
shedding 2%.
Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com
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