Get Guardian on GoogleBitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, has fallen below $63,000, hitting its lowest level since October 2024 amid weakening investor confidence.
Data from CoinMarketCap showed that bitcoin traded 13.9 per cent lower on Thursday, dropping to $62,965 as of 10:20 p.m. The latest decline comes as confidence in bitcoin’s role as a store of value, inflation hedge, and alternative digital currency continues to wane.
The cryptocurrency has been on a steady downward trend for more than three months and is now over 45 per cent below its October peak, reflecting mounting volatility in the digital asset market. Over the past year, bitcoin is reportedly down by about 45 per cent.
Meanwhile, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, also declined sharply, falling 13 per cent to $1,863.
CoinMarketCap further reported that the global cryptocurrency market capitalisation shrank to $2.19 trillion, with total trading volume exceeding $263 billion as of 10:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Market analysts attribute the latest slide in bitcoin prices to a broader sell-off in United States technology stocks, which has weighed heavily on risk assets globally.
Since the beginning of the year, bitcoin’s value has dropped significantly. On October 5, the cryptocurrency reached an all-time high of over $125,000, representing a 97 per cent increase from levels around $62,000 recorded earlier in October 2024.
However, the rally proved short-lived, as bitcoin fell sharply to about $112,000 within days, wiping out billions of dollars in market value and underscoring the extreme volatility that continues to characterise the cryptocurrency industry.
