Markets ended the week in the red, with the Bitcoin price bobbing below its old 2021 high of $69,044. It has fallen far short of returning to its all-time high of $73,737, which it touched last month. According to CoinGecko, it is priced at $67,957 per coin as the weekend gets underway.
The price drop—the coin is now down nearly 3% over the week—is likely due to crypto fund manager Grayscale shifting even more crypto. It redeemed over $300 million at the start of the week, and outflows then shrunk to around $80 million a day on average. Experts told Decrypt this week that the carnage is likely over.
Bitcoin wasn't the only cryptocurrency to struggle. Of the biggest coins and tokens, Solana has lost out the most: it's now priced at $176.82, having dropped by nearly 10% over seven days.
What is Bitcoin?
—Bitcoin started it all. It was the first cryptocurrency, and it launched an industry that now includes thousands. But who invented it, how does it work, and why is it so important? What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin (BTC) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Think of it as a digital token. You can't physically touch or hold Bitcoins, and all Bitcoin transactions are logged on a public, decentralized, immutable ledger. The first official purchase using Bitcoin was for pizza in May 2010. Two pizzas from Papa...
Congestion problems on the coin's network haven't helped its price—and other tokens running on its blockchain have been hit too. Popular meme token Dogwifhat (WIF) dropped by close to 25% in a week and is now trading hands for $3.38.
While popular Solana-based Bonk is also down by over 18%. The meme coin was on a good run last week as one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies.
But when Bitcoin drops, most of the market does, too.
Except for its rivals, of course: Bitcoin Cash had its halving this week. As a result, it's up big—14% over seven days. Right now, its price stands at $695.71. The 14th biggest digital asset rocketed up to its highest price since 2021 but has since retreated.
Despite being the only top coin and token in the green, it's still well below its 2017 all-time high of $3,785.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
