Bitcoin eyes first two-day drop of 2023 as Microsoft dents mood

Bitcoin eyes first two-day drop of 2023 as Microsoft dents mood

Dubai: Bitcoin is flirting with its first back-to-back drop since the start of the year following a poor revenue outlook from technology bellwether Microsoft that dented wider investor sentiment. The largest token fell as much as 2.5 per cent and was trading at about $22,650 as of 6:11 am in London on Wednesday after edging lower in US hours. A range of smaller coins, from Ether to Cardano to Avalanche, were also in the red. Digital assets are among the many investments that jumped at the start of 2023 on bets that central banks will slow or even reverse interest-rate hikes in the months ahead. But the sanguine stance is vulnerable to reversals, for instance if the Federal Reserve at its policy meeting next week pushes back against dovish expectations in the ongoing fight against inflation. The disappointment over Microsoft’s forecasts spilled over into crypto, which is still fairly strongly correlated with technology stocks, according to Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia Pty. “With risk assets, it’s almost been like trying to hold a ball under water so far this year,” he said. “The market is now having second thoughts about how much further to push them.” A