Bitcoin (BTC), the world's most valuable cryptocurrency, has performed remarkably well over the past months. Although, the recent upticks in Bitcoin seem to be fading slightly, as it fell below the $30,000 barrier early Thursday morning.
However, the reason can be attributed to the release of the latest UK inflation figures, which were beyond expectations. Meanwhile, the possible rate hikes by the US Fed as well as the US SEC’s increased crackdown on crypto firms were seen as another key factor that has been putting pressure on BTC prices.
Furthermore, Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency, declined more than 5 percent to $1,956. Apart from this, other popular altcoins including the likes of Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC) experience several losses on the day. BTT emerged to be the biggest gainer of the lot, with a 24-hour gain of over 8 percent.
The UK's inflation rate remained unexpectedly high at 10% in March, causing a further burden on households due to rising food and energy bills. This news indicates that central banks may have to increase borrowing costs to curb inflation.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the UK's consumer price inflation (CPI) decreased from 10.4% in February to 10.1% in March. This was still significantly higher than the forecasted rate of 9.8% by economists polled by Reuters and the 9.2% predicted by the Bank of England (BoE) in February.
However, the rise in inflation will likely lead to a decline in the demand for Bitcoin (BTC), as investors might turn to more stable traditional investments during economic uncertainty. On the other hand, some investors may consider Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, resulting in increased
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