Bitcoin dips below $20,000 | Financial position

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Bitcoin fell below $20,000 on Saturday, continuing a decline that took it down nearly 60% from its high for the year.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, was last down 1.5% at $19,946 on Saturday, down $298 from its previous close.

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It is down 58.7% from the year high of $48,234 reached on March 28.

Ether, the coin linked to the Ethereum blockchain network, meanwhile fell 2.76% to $1,467.2, losing $41.60 from its previous close.

Bitcoin’s fall comes after a weak day on Friday for the currency, which fell as Wall Street slumped, with all three benchmarks ending more than 3% lower.

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The weakness in risk assets came after Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell warned against expecting a quick end to rate tightening. The Fed’s actions on interest rates have led some investors to foresee more trouble for equities.

“Bitcoin fell below 20,000 as investors expect a weekend full of Jackson Hole pessimism to drag sentiment down,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said Saturday.

“European and Asian central bankers are likely to be much more pessimistic than Fed Chairman Powell and that has many traders bracing for a weak open on Sunday night,” he added.

Bitcoin was last below $20,000 in mid-July. (Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Megan Davies in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Chizu Nomiyama)