As the discount shopping event began on Black Friday, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices fell sharply, as global stock markets fell due to new concerns about the new Covid-19 variant.

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“Forget Black Friday; Russ Mould, investment director of AJ Bell, said in an email comment: “Due to concerns about the new Covid pressure, global stock markets have plummeted. The name was changed to Red Friday. "

The price of Bitcoin fell to its lowest price since mid-October, falling by 5% in the past 24 hours, falling below $55,000 per Bitcoin. At the same time, Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, fell to the much-watched level of US$4,000 per Ether.

Since Monday, the widespread sell-off of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies - which has also hit Binance's BNB, solana, cardano, Ripple's XRP and Dogecoin - has evaporated approximately $200 billion from the total market value of cryptocurrencies.

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Bitcoin prices have fallen sharply, and the cryptocurrency market has fallen sharply because... [+] Black Friday, a discount shopping event after Thanksgiving, kicked off all over the world. Ethereum, Binance's BNB, solana, cardano, XRP and Dogecoin also plummeted.

FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in an email comment: “As the stock market volatility increases, cryptocurrency investors should remain vigilant.” He warned that Bitcoin prices are vulnerable to market volatility, partly due to recent Institutional investment may have a knock-on effect on smaller cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Binance’s BNB, solana, cardano, Ripple’s XRP and Dogecoin

"Because of institutional hobbies, regardless of the prospects, Bitcoin is easily affected by the exit of risky assets when it sells all risky assets. And its serious selling risk drags down the entire cryptocurrency market."

However, Kuptsikevich also believes that Bitcoin has begun to act as a so-called safe-haven asset, and retail investors buy Bitcoin when uncertainty increases.

He added: “From a different perspective, retail investors have formed a reaction to buying cryptocurrency because the WHO is discussing new virus variants and restrictions on air travel.”

Other Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors believe that the recent crash is only temporary, and the Black Friday and Thanksgiving holidays have exacerbated this situation.

Nigel Green, a cryptocurrency investor and CEO of deVere Group, said in an email: “The cryptocurrency market has been hit by a temporary sell-off due to concerns about the new Covid-19 variant found in Southern Africa, which reflects the sell-off in global stock markets. "Comment.

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The price of Bitcoin fell below USD 55,000 per Bitcoin, dragging down the prices of Ethereum, Binance... [+] BNB, solana, cardano, XRP and Dogecoin.

"Triggered by a small wave of uncertainty, the parallel trends of the cryptocurrency market and the stock market highlight that digital assets are now mainstream. The headlines triggered a subconscious reaction, which became more obvious as most markets were celebrating Thanksgiving. And don't participate."

Before the recent sell-off, Bitcoin had already aroused the interest of investors who wanted to protect themselves from the uncontrolled inflation that has soared globally in recent months.

"This [bitcoin price plunge] will be short-lived, and as investors re-focus on rising global inflation concerns, the crypto market may rebound in the short term," Green added.

At the same time, people noticed that the price of Bitcoin fell when the hash rate of Bitcoin fell, which is a measure of the computing power of the Bitcoin network.

After discovering the hashrate, Jason Deane, an analyst at Quantum Economics, a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency research institute, said via Twitter DM: "This morning both the hash rate chart and the price chart fell in some way at the same time. This shows that this is not a coincidence." The rate drops.

"Although there are other factors at play, my initial view is that this is an overreaction of the market to things that seem to be problematic but are not actually the case-this is the power of decentralized systems. However, simply In other words, in terms of deadlines, traders can expect bumps along the way as the market makes their own assessments."