Bitcoin Falls Below $20,000 | Reuters

A neon logo of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is seen at the Crypstation cafe in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina May 5, 2022. Picture taken May 5, 2022. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

Aug 27 (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell below $20,000 on Saturday, continuing a slide that has sent it down nearly 60 percent from a year high.

Bitcoin , the world’s largest and bestknown cryptocurrency, fell a final 1.5% to $19,946 on Saturday, down $298 from its previous close.

It’s down 58.7% from a year high of $48,234 on March 28.

Ether , the currency linked to the ethereum blockchain network, meanwhile, fell 2.76% to $1,467.2, losing $41.60 from its previous close.

Bitcoin’s drop comes after a weak day on Friday for the currency, which fell as Wall Street collapsed and all three benchmarks ended more than 3% lower.

The weakness in risk assets came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that a quick end to rate tightening was not expected. The Fed’s actions on interest rates have some investors predicting more pain for stocks. Read more

“Bitcoin broke below 20,000 as investors expect a pessimistic weekend from Jackson Hole to dampen sentiment,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said on Saturday.

“European and Asian central banks will likely be much more pessimistic than Fed Chair Powell and that has many traders bracing for a weak opening on Sunday night,” he added.

Bitcoin was last below $20,000 in midJuly.

Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bangalore and Megan Davies in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Chizu Nomiyama

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