Bitcoin Price Drops Below $53,000 Amidst Macroeconomic Concerns
Bitcoin’s price took a tumble on Friday, falling below $53,000 and reaching its lowest level since the “Black Monday” following macroeconomic shakeups in early August. This drop appears to have validated the prediction of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who believes that there could be further pain in store for crypto holders.
Bitcoin traded at $56,925 at 1:25 PM UTC, before plummeting to $52,871 by 8:55 PM UTC. It currently trades at $53,500.
On Thursday, Hayes had predicted that Bitcoin could decline even further over the next two days, tweeting, “BTC is heavy, I’m gunning for sub $50k this weekend. I took a cheeky short. Pray for my soul, for I am a degen.”
In early August, Bitcoin briefly dipped below $50,000 after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time in over a decade. However, Bitcoin and the broader market quickly recovered as the BOJ promised not to raise rates further as long as it threatened market stability.
However, Bitcoin and stocks have once again entered a downward trend due to poor U.S. economic data this week that continues to point towards a potential recession.
Earlier this week, Hayes cautioned that Bitcoin could “slowly leak toward $50,000,” citing rising deposits to the Fed’s Reverse Repo Program (RRP) as a factor that is sucking money out of the broader market.
In his essay, Hayes emphasized that his bearish stance is “temporary” and is likely to last only until the end of the month before the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury inject more liquidity into the economy.
“I expect intervention to begin in late September,” he stated. “Between now and then, Bitcoin will, at best, continue to chop, and altcoins could dive deeper into the gutter.”
