Bitcoin drops more than 2% and is again below $60K this week

O bitcoin maintained the downward trend that has shown this week, and retreated just over 2% this Thursday (18). With that, the cryptocurrency it was again below the price of US$ 60 thousand, distancing itself from the record reached in November 2021.

At around 10:00 am, bitcoin retreated 2.14%, to US$59,304, according to the website CryptoWatch, which aggregates the quote from several trading venues. Second most traded cryptocurrency in the world, ether – connected to ethereum – caía 1,30%, a US$ 4.200.

According to analysts, the fall of bitcoin this week is mainly due to the so-called profit taking, when investors sell an asset that appreciated and make a profit for the difference between the price paid and the sale price.

For Ricardo Dantas, co-president of the Foxbit exchange, “whenever bitcoin breaks the record barriers, a small correction is expected in the short term. We’re seeing new investors wanting a quick return, on the other hand, big long-term investors are increasingly piling up crypto on these lows.”

“Those who study the crypto market understand that bitcoin is still a very volatile asset. This downward movement after reaching a new price record is quite common”, says Rafael Izidoro, president of the Rispar banking platform.

Other factors also weigh on the fall, such as the high inflation of the USA I mannew criticism of the chinese government in relation to cryptocurrency mining, reinforcing the promise of combating the practice.

Bernardo Schucman, Senior Vice President of Data Center Operations at CleanSpark, associates the current decline in bitcoin with moves such as “the expansion of the Chinese ban on bitcoin operations and the increase in restrictions and sanctions against Chinese miners, as well as the expectation for the US Congress to pass new tax regulations for cryptocurrency operators.”

China’s “war” against cryptocurrencies has been going on since the beginning of 2021, with a series of measures that have banned mining in the country, citing the high environmental impact of the practice, and transactions with cryptocurrencies, due to the highly speculative nature of the assets.

Cambridge University data show that, today, the United States concentrate the highest percentage of mining activity. Bitcoin reached record values ​​after the launch of the first ETFs linked to cryptocurrency in the United States, in this case its future prices, in October of this year.

The rally continued into November to a record $68,000, driven by concerns about record inflation in the United States. Craig Erlam, a market analyst at brokerage Oanda, told Reuters that the value of bitcoin has doubled since January. As a result, the correction would only be more severe if the value of the cryptocurrency is below US$ 58,000, which has not happened yet.