NEW YORK / LONDON (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell on Monday after hitting a record high a day earlier as global stock sales curbed risk appetite, with some investors also citing concerns about the rapid rise in price of the virtual currency.
Traders also noted the development of highly leveraged long positions in the cryptocurrency.
The most popular cryptocurrency fell to $ 47,400, a one-week low. At one point, it lost almost 17% of its value, or about $ 160 billion ended with its total market capitalization. Its market cap on Monday fell to $ 983 billion, after hitting more than $ 1 trillion on Friday.
Bitcoin fell 7.4% for the last time, to $ 53,385.
Bitcoin rallied on Sunday to a high of $ 58,354, with its latest weekend price movements bringing this year’s gains to almost 100%.
Tesla chief Elon Musk, whose tweets about bitcoins have added fuel to the cryptocurrency rally, said Saturday that the price of bitcoins and ether seemed high.
Bitcoin still rose more than 80% this year. Since hitting a low in March below $ 4,000, Bitcoin has risen close to 1,200%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen added fuel to the fire Monday, saying Bitcoin is extremely inefficient in conducting transactions and is a highly speculative asset.
“The widespread liquidation this week is the result of the relief from last week’s exuberance, as well as a necessary disconnect from long leveraged positions,” said Ross Middleton, co-founder of DeversiFi cryptocurrency exchange.
The ether of rival cryptocurrencies, which tends to move in parallel with bitcoin, also fell after breaking the record on Saturday. On Monday it hit a three-week low and fell 10% for the last time to $ 1,743.
Bitcoin’s meteoric rise, which topped $ 50,000, has been fueled by signs that it is gaining acceptance among major investors and companies, from Tesla Inc and Mastercard Inc to BNY Mellon.
“We tend to think that there is a good chance that a low week and a small correction will occur, although that means the medium-term outlook is not bleak,” said Joseph Edwards of Enigma Securities, a cryptocurrency broker. to London.
Report by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Tom Wilson in London; Edited by Andrew Cawthorne