Bitcoin Sees Its Worst Day in Weeks. Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Are Hurting Even More.

text size

Bitcoin

and other cryptocurrencies fell on Friday, with some of the biggest digital assets posting their worst performance in weeks as risk appetite faded in broader markets.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is down more than 4% in the last 24 hours, but remains above the key technical level of $45,000. Prices broke above $45,000 last Sunday and realized more profit at the start of this week, trading above $48,000 in points for firm year-to-date gains.

The move down in the largest digital asset began Thursday night, online with a shift in broader markets away from risk-sensitive assets such as cryptocurrencies and stocks. Bitcoin prices fell more than 3% Thursday night, posting their biggest daily drop since March 10, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

But even as stocks rallied on fridaycryptos remained under pressure.

“The bitcoin rally has run out of steam and [Thursday’s] the risk-off session on Wall Street could keep the pressure on cryptocurrencies,” Edward Moya, an analyst at brokerage Oanda, said in a note late Thursday. “Bitcoin long-term option bets are growing, but it looks like we may have to wait a while for a new catalyst to emerge to break recent highs.”

Bitcoin price started 2022 around $46,200 and remains well below its high of $68,990, reached in early November.

Some in the crypto market are optimistic that the drop in bitcoin prices at the end of this week may be short-lived.

“From a technical perspective, Thursday's loss was a textbook move to test old resistance (in this case, it's the area around $45,000) in order to prepare for a further rally,” said Yuya Hasegawa, Japanese crypto exchange analyst. Bit bank.

“The market doesn't have to be too bearish, but the $45,000 level will be crucial support to defend and failing to close above that level on a daily and weekly basis will likely result in a huge disappointment,” Hasegawa added.

The smallest Bitcoin pair,

ether,
it fell more than 3% to below $3,300. The token that underpins the Ethereum blockchain network also posted its worst daily performance since early March on Thursday, but continues to trade at the highest level since mid-January.

Similar price action was seen among some smaller cryptocurrencies, or "altcoins," with

Moon

slider 4% and

cardano

6%, while

solarium

lost only 0.5%.

The "Meme" cryptocurrencies dogecoin and shiba inu, so named because they were initially intended as internet jokes rather than meaningful blockchain projects, also suffered losses.

doecoin

registered a drop of 5% and

Shiba Inu

I was 7% in the red.

Write Jack Denton at jack.denton@dowjones.com