Bitcoin Tumbles Below $28K on Coinbase

Bitcoin dropped below $28,000 at one point Thursday as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization continued its two-day slump.

Bitcoin (BTC) was recently trading at around $28,325, down 2.7% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk market data. The BTC/USD trading pair on the Coinbase exchange fell to $27,991 shortly before U.S. equity markets closed but later rebounded, TradingView data showed.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst for foreign exchange market maker Oanda, noted in an email that bitcoin's recent decline came after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong indicated that the crypto exchange giant might leave the U.S.

"Coinbase was able to secure a license to operate in Bermuda, in what is being considered a part of their global push," Moya wrote. "If Coinbase leaves the U.S. market, a lot of U.S. traders will be gone because they probably won't feel confident trading on decentralized exchanges, which means the global crypto market will shrink significantly."

He added: "Bitcoin will struggle here until we have any regulatory clarity, which means prices seem poised to drift lower."

Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, recently dropped nearly a percentage point to change hands at around $1,948. ETH fell to $1,917 at one point, its lowest point in a week.

BTC and ETH were down 7% and 3%, respectively, for the past seven days.

Most other major tokens were trading in the red, with both payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP and litecoin (LTC) recently down over 5%. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), which measures overall crypto market performance, was down 3.9% for the day.

Equity markets also declined, amid a series of disappointing first-quarter earnings, including car maker Tesla, whose revenue fell slightly short of the consensus estimate, and Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was down 0.3%.

UPDATE (April 20, 2023, 23:05 UTC): Adds comment from Edward Moya.