‘It Hurts Confidence:’ Volatility Upends Happy Crypto Narrative
- Bitcoin plunges, Ether posts steepest decline since 2021
- Crypto had one of its best bull runs this year until Monday
US spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds suffered their largest outflows in about three months on Aug. 2.
Photographer: Damian Lemanski/BloombergFor a brief moment, everything appeared to be lining up in the right direction for digital-asset proponents. The US approved ETFs for the two largest cryptocurrencies, US presidential candidate Donald Trump shifted to being a supporter and Bitcoin was no longer so closely tied to stock market swings.
That was the prevailing narrative until a selloff in the riskier corners of all markets began during Asian trading hours on Monday, serving as a reminder that the volatile nature of digital assets can cut both ways in a year that saw Bitcoin climb to record highs. At one point Bitcoin was down more than 16% on Monday, while second-ranked Ether sank as much as 23% in its steepest decline since 2021.