coindesk.com
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, bitcoin (BTC) was changing hands at $39,300 at press time, dropping below $40,000 for the first time since Monday as stocks continue to sell off over the war in Ukraine.
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It’s been quite the round trip for bitcoin this week, with the bulls encouraged by a dramatic move higher from midday Monday that carried the price from $38,000 to above $45,000 early Wednesday. The divergence from struggling stocks didn’t last long though, and bitcoin’s hasty retreat has picked up steam this afternoon.
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Checking stocks, the Nasdaq is down another 2% today and the S&P 500 off 1%. The action in Europe is way worse, with Germany shedding 4.4% today, France 5%, and Italy more than 6%.
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Not to be forgotten is the Fed, with Jay Powell on Tuesday - though worried about the economic impact from the war - nevertheless promising a 25 basis point rate hike later this month. The U.S. central bank doesn’t need more ammunition for tightening policy, but got some anyway in this morning’s nonfarm payrolls report which showed a whopping 678,000 jobs added in February versus expectations for just 400,000.
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Adding to market pressures this afternoon was a leak that the White House is mulling a ban on oil imports from Russia. That’s helped add to the big oil rally, with WTI crude now higher by 7.1% to $115.35 per barrel.