Bitcoin has recorded its largest monthly loss since June 2022, pushing it into a bear market as the euphoria over cryptocurrencies after Donald Trump’s election win faded.

The price of bitcoin fell by 17.5% in February, the biggest monthly drop since June 2022, and its eleventh worst month in the last decade, as risk-off sentiment gripped financial markets.

The world’s largest crypto asset ended February at about $84,252 (£67,010), having hit a three-month low of about $78,273 during trading on Friday.

Bitcoin has now dropped more than 20% below the record high of $109,071 set in mid-January, which puts it into a technical bear market.

  • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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    2 days ago

    State currencies aren’t torching the rain forest for speculation and gambling. There are plenty of criticisms you can make about the Federal Reserve and the ECB, but resources they use facilites trade between over a billion people for food, housing, clothing, and critical infrastructure. Meanwhile Bitcoin uses the same amount of energy as Australia or the Netherlands to accomplish nothing more than scams and market speculation. That’s why even El Salvador’s authoritarian tech bro president abandoned it as a currency this year.

    • jorgesumle@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 days ago

      People used currencies before the existence of central banks. They used gold, silver, etc. We don’t need central banks, they are a cancer that create inequalities and inflation. The fact that securing a decentralized proof-of-work network requires energy doesn’t mean that it’s a waste. You can also buy food, housing and clothing with cryptocurrencies.

      El Salvador keeps buying more Bitcoin and lots of people keep using it as a currency there.

      • qprimed@lemmy.ml
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        2 days ago

        an expanded explanation of your first paragraph would have been useful for general discussion.

        your el salvador paragraph absolutely killed the mojo.

        December, 2024, El Salvador, in an agreement for a $1.4 billion loan from the IMF, agreed to reduce bitcoin purchases, removed the mandatory acceptance of Bitcoin requirement on merchants, will no longer accept tax payments with the asset, and will wind-down its involvement in the Chivo wallet.

        Based on the available data from the Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública (Iudop) of the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA), here is the percentage of Salvadorans who reported using Bitcoin for transactions from 2021 to 2024: 2021: 25.7%, 2022: 21%, 2023: 12%, 2024: 8.1%.

        el salvador was always going to be an example of the very worst tendencies of hard-currency (anti-inflationary, proof of work, etc) crypto, specifically because the very worst of the cryptobro “community” was involved in it.

        as of now, some of the worst people on earth are the face of cryptocurrency. major “L”, even for the arguably useful chains.

        edit: bunny ears for community