Bitcoin Drops 8% Extending 30% Decline from Peak

Bitcoin fell sharply on Monday, dropping as much as 8 percent from around 91,000 to below 84,000, extending a broader decline that has erased about 30 percent of its value since reaching an all-time high above 126,000 in early October. The cryptocurrency, which traded near 86,900 by midweek, led a sector-wide rout amid concerns over potential interest rate hikes in Japan and persistent global economic pressures.

The selloff marked Bitcoin's worst single-day decline since March and came after November's already bruising losses, during which the asset shed 16.7 percent. Exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin recorded 3.5 billion dollars in outflows last month, the second-worst on record, reflecting waning investor appetite. As of Tuesday, spot Bitcoin ETFs held about 1.36 million coins, or roughly 6.9 percent of the circulating supply, but recent flows have turned negative, a pattern not seen in prior bull cycles.

Several factors fueled the downturn. Investors pointed to signals from the Bank of Japan, where Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a possible rate increase later this month, pushing 10-year Japanese government bond yields to a 17-year high of 1.88 percent. This raised fears...