Bitcoin Sinks Below $24,000 As Crypto Market Is Rocked By Wider Market Fears

Bitcoin saw its value drop below $24,000 on Monday as investors fret over the direction of the U.S. economy.

Bitcoin plunged about 15% in 24 hours and is trading at about half of what it was worth in March. As of 4:54 p.m. ET, bitcoin was trading at $23,255.20.

The nosedive follows a tumultuous weekend for crypto trading, which resulted in nearly $200 billion being wiped out of the digital currency markets.

The decline also comes as stocks moved into a bear market on Monday, a drop of more than 20% from their January peak. The Nasdaq on Monday plummeted 4.7% to close at 10,809.23 -- its lowest level since September 2020. The S&P 500 fell 3.9% to close at 3,749.81.

Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, predicted that this may not be the end of bitcoin's woes. Ayyar told CNBC that it was possible that the price of bitcoin could continue to slide over the "next month or two."

“We’re also potentially looking at a recession given the [Fed] may need to finally tackle the demand side to manage inflation,” Ayyar said.

"All this points to the market not completely having bottomed and unless the Fed is able to take a breather, we’re probably not going to see bullishness return.”