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| Bitcoin records its worst quarter in over a decade |
Bitcoin posted its worst quarterly loss in over a decade. According to CryptoCompare, the world's largest cryptocurrency lost about 58% of its value in the second quarter of 2022.
Bitcoin fell from $45,524 at the start of the quarter to just under $19,000 on Thursday, the last day of the three-month period.
This is Bitcoin's worst quarterly performance since its 68.2% drop in the third quarter of 2011.
According to CoinMetrics, the cryptocurrency plunged 39.8% in June, its worst month since its initial public offering in 2010.
Meanwhile, the price of Ethereum fell 69.3% in the second quarter and is heading for its worst quarter since early 2015.
Cryptocurrency prices came under heavy pressure this quarter as hyperinflation prompted central banks around the world to raise interest rates and prompted the sale of risky assets such as stocks and bonds.
The price drop also revealed problems for many crypto companies and projects, especially those in the lending industry and those with high leverage.
There were some notable issues this quarter. The computational stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister coin, Luna, crashed in May.
TerraUSD must be linked to the US dollar. Some stablecoins like Tether are backed by real assets such as fiat currencies and government bonds. But terraUSD is controlled by buggy algorithm.
In June, crypto lender Celsius also suspended customer withdrawals, citing poor market conditions.
Bitcoin lost about 58% of its value
Meanwhile, crypto exchange CoinFlex suspended customer withdrawals last week, also citing poor market conditions.
But CoinFlex also claims that longtime crypto investor Roger Ver owes him $47 million. Ver denies that he owes CoinFlex money.
The liquidity crunch has also hit a crypto hedge fund called 3AC, which has been liquidated.
The recent downturn has been described as another crypto winter. It also affects business growth and employment. Coinbase and BlockFi announce layoffs.
Bitcoin has fallen from $19,871 in Q4 2017 to $3,170 in Q4 2018 during previous boom and bust cycles. down 84%.
2014 saw a similar decline of 82.2%. At the time, it went from $1,239 in the fourth quarter of 2013 to $221 in the second quarter of 2015.
This suggests that we may see another downturn if the current poor macroeconomic conditions continue. Other investors also expressed a downward trend. Many investors expect the coin to drop to $8000.