Bitcoin prices tumbled on Monday as a wave of risk aversion swept across global financial markets, prompting investors to retreat from volatile assets including cryptocurrencies.
The leading digital asset dropped more than 5% in 24 hours, trading below $60,000 at press time, according to data from CoinDesk. The sell-off coincided with declines in equities and other risk-sensitive instruments, driven by concerns over rising interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and weakening macroeconomic indicators.
"When uncertainty rises, crypto often gets hit harder than traditional markets due to its speculative nature," said Elena Rodriguez, chief analyst at Digital Asset Research. "We’re seeing a classic flight to safety right now."
Ethereum and other major altcoins followed Bitcoin lower, with the total cryptocurrency market capitalization shedding over $100 billion in the past day.
Analysts note that while short-term volatility remains elevated, long-term holders continue to accumulate, suggesting underlying confidence in Bitcoin’s fundamentals despite current headwinds.