Bitcoin tumbles as much as 7.1% to drop back below $30,000

Bitcoin fell back below $30,000 to the lowest in a week as yet another attempt at upward momentum lost steam amid risk-off markets.

The largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 7.1 per cent to $29,209, a level not seen since May 30. Other tokens also declined, with Ether falling up to 7.3 per cent to $1,725. Avalanche dropped as much as 9.3 per cent.

The moves come a day after Bitcoin climbed back above $31,000, sparking expectations among some investors that it has more room to rise. But it faced “significant resistance” around $31,500 to $32,000, according to Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at UK-based digital asset broker GlobalBlock.

“This market is languishing,” said Adam Farthing and Collin Howe of crypto liquidity provider B2C2 in a note. “Without a catalyst to the upside, current sentiment is likely to keep prices rangebound, with some clear and immediate risk of a break lower.”

The declines for crypto came as US stock futures stayed in the red and the dollar extended gains. A jump in Treasury yields on Monday fueled concerns that rising borrowing costs could induce a recession. Bitcoin has been strongly correlated with risk assets for much of the past couple years.

Markets will continue to watch for signals that the current ranges – $28,000 to $32,750 for Bitcoin, and $1,700 to $2,100 for Ether – may break, B2C2 said in the note.