Topline<\/p>\n
A three-day decline sent bitcoin to a 21-month low on Thursday, extending a broader crypto market selloff as roughly $10 billion in bets on the world\u2019s leading cryptocurrency are set to expire, potentially fueling further volatility.<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s leading cryptocurrency has lost more than half its value since peaking last fall. <\/p>\n
Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
The price of bitcoin fell to an intraday low of $58,131 on Thursday, its lowest level since September 2024, before paring losses, down just over 2.6% over the last day to around $59,460.<\/p>\n
That extends a 6.6% decline for bitcoin over the last week, with further losses for ethereum (down 9.%), BNB (6%), XRP (10.8%), Solana (6.5%) and the meme coin Dogecoin (12.6%).<\/p>\n
Another intraday slide for bitcoin comes as $10 billion in options are set to expire Friday on Deribit, the world\u2019s largest crypto options venue, according to Bloomberg<\/a>, which could spur increased volatility as investors close out old trades or place new ones.<\/p>\n Philippe Laffont<\/a>, the billionaire founder of the Coatue Management hedge fund, told CNBC<\/a> earlier this week he was a \u201clittle bit more worried\u201d about bitcoin, citing competing investment opportunities like SpaceX, noting he would \u201crather bet\u201d on the rocket maker\u2019s stock quadrupling over the next 20 years or AI-backed businesses, than the cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n big number<\/p>\n Nearly 54%. That\u2019s how much bitcoin\u2019s price has declined since hitting a record high of just over $126,000 in October to its intraday low on Thursday. Since then, the global crypto market\u2019s aggregate market value has plummeted about $2.2 trillion, falling from $4.28 trillion to $2 trillion as of Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap<\/a>. Bitcoin accounts for roughly 58% of the global crypto market.<\/p>\n tangent<\/p>\n The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by more than 700 points, or 1.3%, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.4% as of Thursday morning. The Nasdaq lowered 0.3%, despite Micron surging 11% following its record-setting<\/a> earnings report on Wednesday, as Apple (down 4.9%) weighed on the index after announcing broader increases for its products.<\/p>\n key background<\/p>\n Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, accelerated to record highs last year amid broader optimism for pro-crypto legislation under President Donald Trump. The world\u2019s leading cryptocurrency has since dropped below its 200-week moving average, signaling a bear market for bitcoin, as more investors appear to hold bearish positions. Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock\u2019s head of digital assets, said<\/a> booming interest in AI has driven capital away from bitcoin, noting it was a \u201ctough stretch\u201d for the cryptocurrency since its October peak as \u201cthe AI momentum is certainly suckling a lot of the oxygen out of the room.\u201d<\/p>\n