Bitcoin falls below $30,000 as global markets worries over pandemic

Bitcoin price fell Tuesday below $30,000 for the first time since last month, which drags down other digital currencies as investors worldwide fret about the Delta variant and the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CoinMarketCap data, the whole cryptocurrency market lost about $89 billion in 24 hours. However, Glassnode’s report indicates large investors moving their crypto funds into secure storage instead of preparing for selling.

Bitcoin was last trading at about $29,800 on Tuesday, its lowest level since June 22, according to CoinDesk. The cryptocurrency is down roughly 6% last 24 hours, as other cryptocurrencies followed: Ethereum and Dogecoin also slid nearly 7%, while XRP sank almost 9%.

The fall comes after Wall Street suffered a hard hit on Monday by anxiety over the recent news about the Delta variant of COVID-19 spread fastly and its threat to the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined over 725 points, a loss of 2.1%. The S&P 500 lowered 1.6%, as the Nasdaq fell by 1.1%. Asian markets followed the skid on Tuesday.

“There’s been a broad sell-off in global markets, risk assets are down across the board,” said Annabelle Huang, partner at Amber Group, cryptocurrency financial services firm.

By her words, there are “concerns of the quality and strength of economic recovery” and “broader risk assets turned weaker including high yields. Coupled with recent BTC weakness, this just sent the crypto market down further.”

Edward Moya, senior market analyst for the Americas at Oanda, warned investors in a Monday research note: “Bitcoin is the ultimate risky asset right now, and it could see intense selling pressure if Wall Street enters into panic selling mode.”

However, despite the recently sustained bearish momentum, the Bitcoin reserves of centralized exchanges have continued to decline, according to Glassnode’s Monday “The Week On-Chain” report, with an average of 36,000 Bitcoin (worth roughly $1 billion) being withdrawn from exchanges monthly.

Glassnode suggests the shrinking Bitcoin reserves on exchanges indicating large investors moving their BTC funds into secure storage instead of leaving their cryptocurrency on exchanges in preparation for selling.

Bitcoin and other cryptos having been gripped by extreme volatility in recent months. On June 22, Bitcoin plunged below $30,000 for the first time since January.