The price of bitcoin bounced back above $30,000 after dropping to 2022 lows as investors study the fallout of Terra’s UST stablecoin.
Bitcoin last traded 7% higher at $30,579.58, according to Coin Metrics. On Thursday it fell as low as $25,401.29, its weakest point since December 2020. The benchmark cryptocurrency is on pace for its seventh down week in a row. Meanwhile, ether lost 8% and was trading at $2,105.44.
Bitcoin and ether are both on pace for their worst weeks since May 2021, almost a year ago, down 15% and 22%, respectively.
Crypto markets have struggled all year amid the broader market turmoil. Bitcoin, which continues to lead cryptocurrency prices, remains highly correlated with tech stocks, and all three of the major stock averages were higher Friday morning.
This week has been especially dire for cryptocurrency investors as they watched Terra’s UST stablecoin and luna token fall apart, which at least temporarily hit bitcoin prices. Terra has been buying bitcoin by the billions for its UST reserves but, when the project unraveled, that bitcoin was unleashed on the market.
Bitcoin is testing a key psychological level at $30,000 as many investors experience their first big crypto crash. Until it began to tumble this month, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap had been drifting between about $38,000 and $45,000 this year, well off its November all-time high above $68,000.
Technical analysts have said if bitcoin can’t hold $30,000 it could fall further still.
