Bitcoin extends losses as investors’ disposal of risky assets intensify worldwide

Bitcoin extends losses as investors’ disposal of risky assets intensify worldwide

Bitcoin fell below $38,000, touching its lowest price in a week, as global markets tumbled on concerns that spiraling commodities prices unleashed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine may have a wider and longer-lasting impact than previously thought. The largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 4.8% in New York trading hours. Ether, on the other hand, declined as much as 7% to trade at its lowest since Feb. 24. Other popular tokens such as Solano, Cardano and Avalanche tumbled. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is flirting with its worst performance of 2022, and the Nasdaq 100 dropped by 3%. Bitcoin, which has exhibited high correlations with those indices, has given up all of the gains it notched early last week, and is again trading broadly in line with other risk assets. Monday's losses came as oil soared on concerns the U.S. and its allies might prohibit Russian oil imports. Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner at crypto platform Nexo, says "there's several competing narratives with Bitcoin," referring to the digital asset's use as an inflation hedge and as censorship-resistant. "Bitcoin is both a risk-on and a risk-off asset. It's just that when panic occurs, there's initial selling," he said. For most of