Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, fell below $61,000 in Saturday's trading session as risk aversion spread throughout financial markets, and Genesis began distributing digital assets to creditors following the completion of its bankruptcy restructuring.
Bitcoin extended its sell-off, dropping to an intraday low of $60,240 after the July U.S. jobs report released on Friday fueled concerns that the world's largest economy might be in danger of recession. Stocks also sank as the unemployment rate jumped to its highest level since October 2021.
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A further sell-off in Japan occurred in response to the Bank of Japan's most minimal monetary tightening actions on Wednesday when it lifted its benchmark lending rate to 0.25% from a previous range of 0%-0.1%.
At the time of writing, BTC was down 3.56% in the last 24 hours to $62,142.
Peter Schiff reacts to Bitcoin, Ethereum price sell-off
In his usual characteristic manner, economist and gold bug Peter Schiff, who is also an outspoken crypto critic, took the chance to take a dig at cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum in particular.
In a tweet, Schiff highlighted the weekly decline in Bitcoin's value against the Japanese yen, suggesting that Japanese investors might soon abandon the cryptocurrency.
This week #Bitcoin is down 13% in Japanese yen. That's a big drop for something Japanese investors bought as a safe haven. #Gold is down too, but only 2.5% in yen. That's not bad considering that Japanese stocks fell 7.3% on the week. The Japanese will soon say sayonara Bitcoin.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 2, 2024
Schiff wrote: "This week Bitcoin is down 13% in Japanese yen. That's a big drop for something Japanese investors bought as a safe haven. Gold is down too, but only 2.5% in yen. That's not bad considering that Japanese stocks fell 7.3% on the week. The Japanese will soon say sayonara Bitcoin."
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In another tweet, Schiff criticizes Ethereum ETFs and predicts a drop to $2,000: "Ethereum ETFs have been trading for just two weeks and they're already down 15%. They closed the week on new lows. Ethereum itself is now trading below $3,000. It won't be long before it break $2000. Gold rose 2% this week. Bitcoin fell 10%. The race is over. Gold wins the medal."
Peter Schiff has long criticized cryptocurrencies, typically citing gold as a more dependable store of value. His recent comments reflect his ongoing skepticism towards cryptocurrencies; thus, Schiff's prediction of Japanese investors abandoning Bitcoin should be read in light of his overall investment approach.
