NEW YORK / LONDON (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell Monday after rising to its latest record high a day earlier as global stock sales curtailed risk appetite, and some investors also cited concerns about the rapid rise in prices of the virtual currency.
Traders have also pointed out that long positions in the cryptocurrency are very strongly utilized.
The most popular cryptocurrency fell to $ 47,400, a one-week low. At one point, it lost nearly 17% of its value, or about $ 160 billion of its total market capitalization. Its market capitalization fell to $ 983 billion on Monday after hitting more than $ 1 billion on Friday.
Bitcoin was last down 7.4% at $ 53,385.
Bitcoin rose to a high of $ 58,354 on Sunday, with its latest weekend price range rising nearly 100% so far this year.
Tesla boss Elon Musk, whose tweets about bitcoin complemented the cryptocurrency’s showdown, said on Saturday that the price of bitcoin and ethereum looked high.
Bitcoin has risen more than 80% this year. Since hitting a low of $ 4,000 in March, bitcoin has risen nearly 1,200%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen added fuel on Monday, saying bitcoin is extremely inefficient to execute transactions and is a very speculative asset.
“This week’s sales are the result of last week’s easing, as well as a much-needed settlement of long-overdue positions that have been over-utilized,” said Ross Middleton, co-founder of the DeursiFi Fair.
Competitive cryptocurrency etherum, which tends to move with bitcoin, also tumbled after reaching a record high on Saturday. It hit a three-week low on Monday, last 10% lower at $ 1,743.
Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to more than $ 50,000 is fueled by signs that it is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, from Tesla Inc and Mastercard Inc to BNY Mellon.
“We tend to think that there is a good chance that a week below and small correction of this will occur, although this does not detract from the moderate medium-term outlook,” said Joseph Edwards of Enigma Securities, a cryptocurrency broker. in London, said.
Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Tom Wilson in London; Edited by Andrew Cawthorne