Bitcoin Losses were extended early Thursday, falling to $63,000 for the first time since February 24. The cryptocurrency has lost more than 14% this week alone and 21% over the past four weeks, according to CoinDesk data.
The selling triggered demand for protective options plays, pushing the fear gauge, the BVIV 30-day implied volatility index, to 53.17, its highest level since April 2.
Investors withdrew another $50 million from U.S.-listed cash ETFs on Wednesday, marking the 13th consecutive trading day of outflows from these vehicles, which are seen as a gauge of institutional demand.
“A crypto selloff, which began with the Strategy move triggering ETF outflows and is now fueled by speculative news about Mt. Gox liquidations, signals continued potential selling. BTC at $50,000 is a level some are starting to talk about as a bottom this year,” Paul Howard, senior director at liquidity provider Wincent, said in an email.
“While there is still a long way to go, the lack of catalysts and the movement of liquidity into other technology sectors such as AI indicate that we will have even more volatility ahead,” he added.
Some traders are closely watching levels around $60,000 as potential support. The February crash saw prices almost test this level on some exchanges before the selling petered out.
“The first major area I’m watching is the $60,000 region because that’s where a lot of the big pieces start to come together. We have the local low around $59.9,000. We now have the 200-week moving average in that same general area,” analysts at data tracking platform Material Indicators said in an email.
“This does not guarantee support. It just tells us that this is where the market should make a decision,” they added.
