Bitcoin below $44,000, other major crypto currencies drop

Ether, the second-largest crypto currency in terms of market capitalization, also dropped more than 5% to $3,064

Prices of crypto currencies today slumped with Bitcoin trading below the $44,000 level in a volatile week for the digital tokens. The world's largest crypto currency was down nearly 3% at $43,144.

Bitcoin is down nearly 35% since it peaked at around $69,000 in November last year as risk aversion grows with the Federal Reserve and other global central banks starting to tighten financial conditions and remove pandemic-era liquidity from the system.

Ether, the second-largest crypto currency in terms of market capitalization, also dropped more than 5% to $3,064. Similarly, Binance Coin tumbled nearly 2% to $413.

Dogecoin was trading 6% lower at $0.15 while Shiba Inu slumped more than 8% to $0.000030. The performance of other coins were mixed as Stellar, Avalanche, Cardano, Polygon, XRP, Polkadot, Solana, Terra, Stellar prices were trading with cuts over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin’s institutional investors are focused on Treasuries as that momentum trade appears to be rather straightforward, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, adding that the crypto currency ‘seems poised to consolidate between the $40,000 and $50,000 level over the short-term.’

Tech stocks tend to fall as yields rise, as growth-oriented companies are more likely to give investors higher returns in the distant future rather than the near term.

Bitcoin has been trading like equities, and specifically like tech stocks over several months. Institutional investors have taken an interest in the crypto currency, and some are trading it as a risk asset. As a result, the crypto has been selling off in tandem with tech stocks, which declined sharply to start the year, despite a rebound in February.

Meanwhile, the global crypto currency market capitalisation today remained above $2 trillion, as per CoinGecko, even as it was down 3% at $2.06 trillion, dragged by decline in crypto prices today.

The crypto market marked the third week of inflows totalling $133 million last week, according to a report from digital asset manager CoinShares. Bitcoin led all inflows, with $71 million, the largest since early December and the third week of inflows in a row, with a total of $108 million.