Bitcoin is tumbling again. Having staged a tentative revival Monday, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency is now struggling to clear $70,000.
The price of Bitcoin fell by 1% to around $68,000, according to CoinDesk data at around 4:40 p.m. Eastern time. Meanwhile, Ethereum and popular alt-coin XRP were also down by 1.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
Crypto-linked stocks also edged down. Robinhood dipped 8.9% on Wednesday on the back of disappointing fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, while Coinbase fell 5.7% and Strategy, which used to be called MicroStrategy, dropped by 5.2%.
The latest price move comes after Wednesday’s release of the much-anticipated January jobs report—delayed from last Friday due to a brief government shutdown.
Crypto investors will also be keeping an eye out for January’s consumer price index reading, which will be released Friday. Economists are expecting headline inflation to fall, according to FactSet estimates.
A lower CPI reading would trigger “more doubt on the near-term growth outlook,” says Deutsche Bank strategist Henry Allen. That will “cement expectations the Fed would keep cutting rates,” he added.
The price of cryptocurrencies and interest rates typically move in opposite directions, as lower rates encourage more risk taking and higher liquidity.