Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $70,000 for the first time in nearly three months early Friday as investors weigh the largest cryptocurrency’s value against a more hawkish Federal Reserve and other mounting headwinds.
After dropping to $68,000, bitcoin recovered to around $69,265, leaving it down more than 10% so far in November, according to Yahoo Finance data.
The latest decline follows a Wednesday decision by major index provider MSCI’s to remove Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin, from two US stock indexes. That move could force funds tracking those benchmarks to sell shares of the company.
But bitcoin’s troubles extend well beyond Strategy.
“The latest selloff is being driven by a combination of macro risk aversion, persistent spot Bitcoin ETF outflows, and an unwind of leveraged long positions,” said Lacie Zhang, analyst at crypto firm Bitget.
Expectations for further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes have weighed on riskier assets, especially bitcoin, while weakness in technology stocks has added to the pressure.
Crypto-related stocks including Coinbase Global (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD) and Circle Internet Group (CRCL) also declined early Friday.