Bitcoin’s value continued to decline over the weekend, falling below $34,000 (£27,630), according to the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.

Since it reached $67,000 in November last year, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value has dropped by half.

The drop in the value of digital assets is happening at the same time that the global stock market is experiencing  a decline.

Some Asian markets fell again on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei index falling by approximately 2.5 percent.

Bitcoin accounts for nearly a third of the cryptocurrency sector, with a market valuation of $640 billion.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, has also lost value in the recent week, shedding more than 10%.

Although the cryptocurrency market remained relatively quiet for the majority of 2022, volatile digital asset trading was not unheard of in previous years.

For years, individual investors dominated trade, but professional investors like hedge funds and money managers have recently entered the market.

As more traditional investors trade digital assets, cryptocurrency prices are rapidly mirroring those of global stock markets.

Many institutional investors buy cryptocurrencies as risk assets, similar to stocks in the technology sector.

Uber was one of the companies that contributed to the decrease.

On Monday, the company’s stock plunged more than 5% after media sources reported that CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had told employees that investors were growing warier about making investments. Uber would respond, he added, by cutting costs and limiting hiring.

“It’s clear that the market is experiencing a seismic shift, and we need to react accordingly,” he wrote in the letter. “The average employee at Uber is barely over 30, which means you’ve spent your career in a long and unprecedented bull run. This next period will be different, and it will require a different approach.”

During instances of market volatility, traditional investors would often sell riskier assets and move their money into safer investments.

Last week, central banks around the world, including the US, the UK, and Australia, raised interest rates in an effort to battle increasing prices.

The US Federal Reserve raised its key lending rate by half a percentage point, the greatest increase in almost two decades.

This has heightened market concerns that rising borrowing costs and inflation will have a severe impact on global economic growth.

Investors are also concerned about the war in Ukraine’s worldwide economic ramifications.

Meanwhile, El Salvador and the Central African Republic have recently made Bitcoin legal tender.

El Salvador has been urged by the International Monetary Fund to reconsider its decision to enable consumers to use bitcoin alongside the US dollar in all transactions.

Photo: Reuters

Monday saw a positive movement of the Russian rouble value, strengthening over 77 compared to the euro to an almost all-time high in two years due to this week’s tax payments that firms are expected to settle and as the market awaits the central bank rate decision on Friday. 

According to 1453 GMT, the rouble soared 3.6% to trade at 77.25 compared to the euro – standing at 76.96 – its firmest mark since June 2020. 

Against the dollar at 73.17, the rouble was 3% higher, reaching levels experienced prior to Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. 

However, trading activity still performs lower than the levels experienced prior to February 24. The rouble’s movements are influenced by capital controls implemented by the central banks due to its loss of rouble backing via FX interference following Western sanctions freezing almost half of the country’s reserves. 

Analysts say the currency was backed by a record 3 trillion roubles ($40.25 billion) that firms owe in taxes this month. To settle their accounts, a few export-focused companies must sell foreign currency. 

The tax payments may possibly thrust the rouble to even higher levels, according to a note from Veles Capital; however, an anticipated central bank rate reduction on Friday may take away hopes.

Market participants are awaiting the rate decision from the central bank since the two-emergency rate activity in the previous month – an increase to 20% in late February and a decrease to 17% on April 8. 

A poll by Reuters signaled that the bank would reduce 200 basis points to 15%. 

Another hint that the state plans to revive economic growth emerged as President Vladimir Putin suggested on Monday to cut the subsidized mortgage rate from 12% to 9%. 

Putin complimented the “timely” decision of the central bank and the government to stabilize the economic turmoil at a meeting on the economy broadcast live. 

Russia remains to be struggling with the capital battle. In March, the foreign investors’ share among holders of Russia’s OFZ treasury bonds plummeted to 17.7%, its lowest yet since late 2012, according to Monday’s central bank data.