BTC/USD: Bitcoin Price Wipes Out 24% to $50,000 as August Deals Turn Ugly from the Get-Go

Orange coin briefly dipped under $50,000, flexing its stomach-churning volatility as traders reacted to a whirlwind of economic news.

• Bitcoin prices BTCUSD crashed to $49,000 Monday morning after the Asian session left no survivors — the entire crypto space (and beyond, stocks were bleeding too) was reeling from a bout of risk-off trading. The orange coin is down 15% on the day so far, adding to a stinging August performance of 24% in losses. The wide-ranging selloff was unleashed Friday when the US economy posted a shocking jobs report with just 114,000 new jobs added in July.
• The worrisome hiring figure jolted markets broadly, but crypto markets specifically. Over the weekend, the digital asset space wiped out about 15% from its valuation and was floating near $1.85 trillion this morning as US traders were getting ready to pop open their red-all-over portfolios. Uncertainty is likely to carry over into the American session after Europe’s trading hours weren’t too good either.
• Bitcoin is down roughly 33% from its record high of more than $73,000 hit in early March. Despite the deep rout now unfolding, crypto has lots of good things going for it. Earlier this year, markets celebrated the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds where big-name issuers scooped up genuine Bitcoin and started selling it through shares of ETFs, lowering the entry barrier for the ordinary consumer and the institutional investor.