It was just last year that cryptocurrency had officially carved itself into the mainstream with celebrities, and household-name internet personalities incessantly plugging it.
That feels like an age ago now with the precipitous decline of bitcoin—the cryptocurrency that started it all—over the past week.
At the time of writing, the value of bitcoin has dipped just below the significant threshold of $20,000 USD.
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The last time it was at this value was in November of 2020, just before climbing to its all-time peak of about $69,000.
Its loyal investors did not believe it would fall below this figure ever again—yet it’s now lost over 70 percent of its value since reaching that peak.
Cryptocurrency’s fall from grace has coincided with U.S. stock slides amid the growing likelihood of a recession.
Compounding the losses, cryptocurrency lending company Celsius has frozen withdrawals and transfers, and a slew of other cryptocurrency companies have begun laying off employees en masse.
That these developments have unfolded in conjunction with the stocks rout is a challenge to cryptocurrency’s perception as being untraditional, and thus a reliable hedge against inflation.
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For many institutions, the hope that buying bitcoin might offset stock and bond declines was its whole appeal.
It is not just Bitcoin that is suffering. Ether, the second-largest digital, token plummeted by 10% on Saturday to $975, its lowest level since January 2021.
The coin has lost an astonishing 80% of its value from its record high last November.
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Topics: Australia, Bitcoin, Money, Cryptocurrency