Bitcoin's price drops 7% before the Easter weekend

Major cryptocurrency markets have declined 7% in the past 24 hours, with the declining bitcoin (BTC) currently trading below $ 7,000. While traditional stocks made modest gains during the early hours of trading on Friday, the cryptocurrency market has lost over $ 13 billion in the past 24 hours, according to Nomics. Most large-cap crypto assets fell by more than 8% in the same hours, with BTC the only exception being a 6.8% drop.

The sell-off started on Friday night

On Friday night and throughout the following morning, Bitcoin began to show signs of a new decline, losing around $ 500 in 14 hours. "Given the brisk movement seen overnight, it is plausible that some of the biggest holders of crypto wallets were likely to profit from these relatively favorable prices," said David Nuelle, CEO of Hehmeyer Trading + Investments.

"Other than that, I don't see anything that could influence the movement of the market." However, Nuelle called the bitcoin recovery from the mid-March lows of around $ 4,100 "pretty impressive". "With other markets closed and US businesses closed for holidays, the cryptocurrency markets generally feel less liquid," said CMS Holdings partner Bobby Cho. "I don't think this is a problem for fundamental cryptocurrencies, rather short-term market liquidity could be."

Bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin SV (BSV) lost most of their value among the top 25 cryptocurrencies, falling by 11% and 13.5% respectively. However, both currencies saw their halvings this week, which may have contributed to falling prices.

The comparison with traditional markets

Contrary to cryptocurrency markets, traditional stock markets ended the week largely with positive quotes. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial index have made significant gains in the past four trading days (markets were closed Friday for the Easter holidays), despite the economic blow caused by record job losses.

The United States saw 10% of its workforce laid off in just three weeks following the current COVID-19 epidemic. Claims for unemployment benefits rose 6.6 million on Thursday, to a total of 16 million, according to CNBC.

Economies around the world are preparing for an economic shock caused by the pandemic. According to the New York Times, Germany and France are already seeing their economies sliding into a recession.

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