Bitcoin News

LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Top cryptocurrency bitcoin hit a fresh two-month low on Friday, breaking out of its recent tight range as a wave of risk averse sentiment swept through world markets.

On Thursday, bitcoin fell 7.2% in its biggest one-day drop since November 2022 when top exchange FTX collapsed.

It then slipped to a two-month low of $26,172 during Asian trading hours on Friday, its lowest since June 16 . By 0835 GMT, it had partly recovered to $26,441, down 0.8% on the day.

Global markets have been hit by a wave of selling, with Wall Street's main indexes closing lower on Thursday and Asian shares heading for a third week of losses over concerns about China's economy and fears that U.S. interest rates would stay higher for longer given a resilient economy.

Ether, the second biggest cryptocurrency, was steady at $1,685.20 , having also dropped sharply on Thursday.

Some analysts attributed crypto's drop to a Wall Street Journal report that Elon Musk's SpaceX sold its bitcoin holdings after writing the value down by $373 million. Musk is influential among crypto enthusiasts, and bitcoin prices have previously moved in response to his tweets.

dropped more than 1%.

The SpaceX report was the "immediate catalyst" for bitcoin's sell-off, said Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro.

"The broader driver is that crypto assets are not immune to the deepening risk-off selling pressure seen across all asset classes," Laidler added.

Joseph Edwards, head of research at Enigma Securities, attributed the bitcoin price move to low volatility and a lack of enthusiasm from retail investors.