Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest point since Sept. 29, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency has fallen 40% since it hit its peak in November of $69,000 and has risen 60% in the past year.

Bitcoin fell below $41,000 Friday at 10:50 a.m. ET before rising back to $41,765.20 at 2:37 p.m. ET.

“Bitcoin and crypto are acting like risk assets right now,” Callie Cox, an investment analyst with eToro, told Bloomberg. “Investors are viewing Bitcoin as a play on the economic outlook, and right now that’s pretty murky.”

One of the biggest reasons for the recent plunge is the unrest going on in Kazakhstan, which accounts for 18% of the world’s Bitcoin processing power and is second to only the U.S.

Kazakhstan, because of its rich energy resources, became an alternative to China for Bitcoin mining in 2021 when Chinese officials began cracking down on activity in an effort to reduce climate emissions. Cryptocurrency mining requires high-powered computers that solve complex mathematical puzzles to create a new "block" on the blockchain. It requires significant computing power and electricity.

Bitcoin’s computing power “is not directly correlated to the price of Bitcoin, but it gives an indication of the network’s security, so a fall can spook investors in the short term,” Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at U.K.-based digital asset broker GlobalBlock, told CNBC.

Bitcoin has also been under pressure from the Federal Reserve, which has caused investors to retreat from the digital currency.

"We are seeing broad risk-off sentiment across all markets currently as inflationary concerns and rate hikes appear to be at the forefront of speculators' minds," Matthew Dibb, COO of Singapore crypto platform Stack Funds, told Reuters.

Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of crypto lender Nexo, indicated the value of Bitcoin could drop into the mid-to-low $30,000s if the Fed continues to tighten its grip.

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