Bitcoin fell on Wednesday, extending its recent losses as improved risk appetite, due to progress toward reopening the US government, failed to spur significant buying in cryptocurrency markets.
Bitcoin fell 1.8% to $103,344.1 by 8:28 a.m., after earlier hitting a low of $102,737.9.
The world's largest cryptocurrency has struggled to recover after suffering significant losses in early November, briefly dipping below $100,000. Recent improvements in overall risk appetite have also failed to translate into cryptocurrency markets, with traders shifting their focus to equities.
Reopening of the US government is on the horizon, pending a House vote.
The U.S. government moved closer to ending its longest-ever shutdown this week, after the Senate on Monday approved a measure aimed at unlocking more government funding through January 30.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, with the Republican majority indicating they will approve it in a vote on Wednesday. The bill will then be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature to become law.
Optimism about an end to the lockdown, which entered its 42nd day on Tuesday, helped lift broader risk-driven markets, particularly equities. But traders largely shied away from cryptocurrencies, with sentiment toward the sector also dampened by growing doubts about Bitcoin treasury companies.
China accuses the United States of stealing $13 billion worth of Bitcoin.
China’s cybersecurity agency on Tuesday accused the U.S. government of stealing nearly $13 billion worth of Bitcoin.
The indictment relates to the theft of 127,272 bitcoins from the Chinese Bitcoin mining pool LuBian in December 2020, one of the largest cryptocurrency heists in history.
According to Chinese authorities, the hacking operation was a state-level hacking operation led by the United States.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. begins rolling out the JPM Coin token
Major Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) began rolling out a deposit token called JPM Coin to institutional investors this week, as it and other financial institutions continue to expand their presence in digital asset markets.
The token represents dollar deposits in the bank and allows users to send and receive funds through Coinbase's blockchain, Base, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins fall, tracking Bitcoin
Prices of all the broader cryptocurrencies declined, following Bitcoin's lead, as sentiment towards cryptocurrencies remained largely negative.
The world's second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, fell 2.8% to $3,448.93, while XRP fell 3.1% to $2.3986.
BNB fell by 2.5%, Cardano lost 3.7%, while Solana lost 5.9%.
Among the meme symbols, Dogecoin fell by 3.4%, while $TRUMP lost 8.8%.
