Bitcoin price collapses below $ 55,000 due to novel coronavirus variant

The price of Bitcoin has just lost several thousand dollars. Cryptocurrency slipped back below the $ 55,000 threshold when the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus aroused investor concerns.

The price of Bitcoin has just gone under the $ 55,000 mark. This Friday, November 26, 2021, the value of the cryptocurrency fell by $ 5,000, or 7.8%, in the space of a few hours. As of this writing, the digital currency is trading around $ 54,750 on most market platforms. This is the lowest level of the BTC price since October 12th. As a reminder, Bitcoin hit a record $ 69,000 in early November.

As is often the case, the queen of cryptocurrencies has plumbed the course of most altcoins. Ether, the second most capitalized digital currency in the world, fell back below $ 4,100. Many popular cryptocurrencies, including tokens linked to the Metaverse like Sandbox or Mana, recorded similar declines on Friday. The entire market is displayed in red.

Covid-19 variants lead to Bitcoin prices

According to our colleagues at Reuters, this collapse is due to the appearance of new variants of coronavirus in the world. Fearing a collapse in the financial markets, many investors abandoned positions taken on riskier assets, including Bitcoin. The discoveries of a variant of the Covid, in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, put cold on an increasingly gloomy market.

“The spread of variants, especially to other countries, could further stain investor appetite. BTC gains are likely to be limited and the market should brace for further losses ”, warns Yuya Hasegawa, analyst of the Bitbank exchange.

Sweden demands that Europe ban Bitcoin mining

It is not uncommon for Bitcoin’s price to collapse by several thousand dollars in the space of a few hours. Cryptocurrency has always been characterized by its extreme volatility. In fact, it is not impossible that the course will regain color in the coming weeks depending on various factors. Nonetheless, it seems increasingly unlikely that Bitcoin will be able to reach the $ 100,000 target by the end of December, as several market observers recently assured.

Source: Reuters