In just three days

Bitcoin has lost 10,000 US dollars in value since Friday

Bitcoin continued to lose ground on Monday amid a generally gloomy mood on the financial markets. The price of the oldest and best-known cryptocurrency plummeted to 51,600 US dollars (around 47,600 euros) on the Bitstamp trading platform in the morning, reaching its lowest level since February.

Bitcoin has lost around 10,000 dollars in value since Friday evening alone. The last time there was a comparably sharp price slump was two years ago - in June 2022.

"Cocktail of uncertainty"
Bitcoin had already fallen sharply last week. Analyst Timo Emden from Emden Research spoke of a "cocktail of uncertainty" that is currently weighing on Bitcoin. "In particular, the newly sparked fears of recession in the US are catching investors on the wrong foot," said Emden.

There had recently been weak economic data in the USA. In particular, an unexpectedly weak labor market report from the US government caused concern. In July, unemployment in the world's largest economy rose to its highest level in almost three years.

Ethereum also fell sharply
In addition to Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies also came under heavy selling pressure at the start of the week. The price of Ether(eum) slumped by around 15 percent to 2340 dollars. The recent price losses have significantly reduced the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies. It fell by around 14% to 1.85 trillion dollars. Bitcoin's share was recently put at around 56%.

A week ago, Bitcoin had risen to just under 70,000 dollars. Statements by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had driven the cryptocurrency towards a record high, which was last reached in March at just under 74,000 dollars. Trump had promised to make the USA the "crypto capital of the planet and a Bitcoin superpower" if he were to return to the White House after the election in November.

The price performance over the past week shows once again how volatile trading in cryptocurrencies is. There are therefore repeated warnings of possible large price losses.