New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Bitcoin is sliding toward its steepest monthly decline since the 2022 crypto meltdown, with a sharp downturn in market sentiment, large-scale liquidations and institutional selling dragging the broader digital asset ecosystem lower.

According to CoinGecko, at around 11:30 am (Indian time), Bitcoin was trading at $84,226.98, down 2.1 per cent in the past 24 hours. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has lost more than 12 per cent over the past week and plunged over 22 per cent in the last 30 days.

The latest slide extends a selloff that has wiped out almost a quarter of Bitcoin’s value so far in November, its worst monthly drop since June 2022.

On Friday, Bitcoin tumbled as much as 7.6 per cent to $80,553 before recovering some lost ground. Ether also witnessed heavy selling, falling as much as 8.9 per cent and slipping below $2,700, while several smaller altcoins mirrored the overall decline.

The broader crypto market has not been spared either. The total market capitalisation of all digital assets fell below the $3 trillion mark, hitting its lowest level since April, according to CoinGecko data.

Market analysts attribute the current rout to a mix of forced liquidations, institutional profit-taking, and a sudden collapse in trader confidence.

The steep correction follows massive liquidations on October 10 that wiped nearly $19 billion in leveraged positions and wiped about $1.5 trillion off the global crypto market.

The downturn comes despite signs of improving political support for digital assets under US President Donald Trump, and a continued uptick in institutional interest. Bitcoin, which touched an all-time high in early October, has since fallen more than 30 per cent from that peak.

This latest slump echoes the turmoil from 2022, when the implosion of Do Kwon’s TerraUSD stablecoin sparked a chain reaction throughout the industry, spreading a wave of corporate failures and culminating in the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange.

With November drawing to a close and volatility showing no signs of easing, traders remain on edge as Bitcoin teeters near key support levels, raising fears of further downside in the coming weeks.

–IANS

aps/na