Bitcoin drops below $9 000 level for the first time since May

HONG KONG – Bitcoin slid below $9 000 (R154 749) on Monday for the first time since May, joining a down draft in global equities begun during Asia hours amid growing concern about the risks of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The largest cryptocurrency tumbled as much as 5.1 percent Monday and recovered to about $9 100 as of 8.55am in London, according to consolidated pricing data from Bloomberg. For the first time since the end of April, the token dipped below its 50-day moving average, a level that’s considered a point of resistance for some traders.

Bitcoin has flirted with $10 000 since May, failing to sustain a rally above that key psychological level after the closely watched “halving” industry event that reduced the amount of the cryptocurrency earned by miners.

Stocks slid globally on Monday alongside U.S. equity futures, in an echo of last Thursday’s risk-off mode. Chinese economic data Monday disappointed investors, with a smaller bounce back in May than economists expected. On the virus front the U.S. showed a pick-up in cases, Tokyo reported a jump of its own over the weekend and China is racing to contain a new outbreak in Beijing that reached nearly 100 infections.

“I think it’s definitely part of the broader sell-off that we also saw in equities last week,” said Vijay Ayyar, the head of business development with crypto exchange Luno.