https://ift.tt/3t5S1GH drops below $42,000 for the first time since September.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin, declined as much as 4.9% to $41,008, marking a tumble of about 40% from its record near $69,000 reached Nov. 10. The second-largest cryptocurrency ethereum also dropped as much as 8.3% to its lowest level since Sept. 30. Bitcoin gained about 60% in 2021, outperforming other asset classes amid a narrative that included institutional adoption, inflation protection, and investment diversification.

The global crypto market continues its bearish trend.

The global crypto market cap currently stands at $2.04 trillion with a loss of 1.34%, according to the Coinmarketcap data. Trading volume was down by 12.86% at $102.52 billion, which might indicate that the bulls are taking a breather and are in no hurry to buy in the dip. Meanwhile, Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, hinted in reply to a tweet that they might start accepting crypto payments in the future. Also, golfer Matt Wallace hinted at some sort of collaboration between Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink and the Dogecoin Foundation in a tweet. 

Nasdaq also plunged this week to its lowest since February 2021. 

As reported earlier, the Nasdaq plunged more than 3% overnight in its biggest one-day percentage drop since February, after Fed minutes showed U.S. policymakers had discussed reducing the bank’s balance sheet at their December meeting when they also decided to accelerate finishing their bond-buying program. On Thursday, share markets in Asia also sold off while U.S. Treasury yields edged higher. World’s second-leading cryptocurrency in market cap, Ethereum, also lost 5.2% on Wednesday and touched its lowest level since October before bouncing back slightly to $3,460. Crypto analysts were also watching to see whether anti-government protests in Kazakhstan, which were initially sparked by rising fuel prices, would affect the bitcoin network.