Bitcoin fell sharply after a sell-off of major U.S. stock indices. Bitcoin has been correlated closely to the price movement of the Nasdaq index.
Luke MacGregor | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bitcoin tumbled as much as 6% early Friday, hovering at one point just above its critical $80,000 support level, as investors continued their flight from risk-on assets to more defensive plays.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization hit $80,548 at around 7:30 a.m. ET, marking is lowest price since April 11.
It has since regained some of its losses to trade down 1.5% to $85,104.38, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency is down about 10% since the beginning of the week and roughly 24% over the last month.
Bitcoin value year to date
The token’s slide follows mounting pressure in the U.S. stock market, which has led investors to rotate out of volatile assets like crypto and artifical intelligence stocks into safe-havens such as gold. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2% on Thursday, as a rally sparked by Nvidia‘s blockbuster earnings on Wednesday lost steam. Its fizzling underscores investors’ increasing scrutiny of sky-high AI valuations. Investors in AI also often hold bitcoin, linking the two trades.
Bitcoin is now down 9% since the beginning of the year, despite smashing several price records following President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Amid the administration’s pro-crypto policies, it last sailed to a record high just north of $126,000 in early October.