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The
world's biggest cryptocurrency slipped as much as 6% to $44,451
before recovering most of its losses.
It was last trading down 1% at $46,671, on course for a drop of
almost 20% this week, which would be its heaviest weekly loss
since March last year, when fears over the novel coronavirus
caused havoc in financial markets.
The sell-off echoed that in equity markets, where European
stocks tumbled as much as 1.5%, with concerns over lofty
valuations also hammering demand. Asian stocks fell by the most
in nine months.
"When flight to safety mode is on, it is the riskier investments
that get pulled first," Denis Vinokourov of London-based
cryptocurrency exchange BeQuant wrote in a note.
Bitcoin has risen about 60% from the start of the year, hitting
an all-time high of $58,354 this month as mainstream companies
such as Tesla Inc and Mastercard Inc embraced cryptocurrencies.
Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, which has seen huge inflows amid the
heightened interest in cryptocurrencies and manages almost $33
billion in assets, was down 5.5% versus its previous close at
$45.63.
The Purpose Bitcoin ETF, which became this month the world's
first exchange traded fund physically settled by bitcoin, last
traded at $7.41 versus a net asset value of $9.36.
Its stunning gains in recent months have led to concerns from
investment banks over sky-high valuations and calls from
governments and financial regulators for tighter regulation.
(Reporting by Ritvik Carvalho and Tom Wilson; editing by Dhara
Ranasinghe, Karin Strohecker, William Maclean)
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