Bitcoin hits near 4-month low as price tumbles below $40K

The cryptocurrency market on Monday saw Bitcoin falling below its support level of $41,000 and ranging around $39,000-$40,000 at the time of writing. At press time, the currency was trading at $39,759, down 4.55% since yesterday. Bitcoin last fell below $40,000 in September 2021.

The plunge came after the US Federal Reserve released minutes of its December 2021 meeting which suggested that the central banking system will end its record asset-purchase program and increase several of its interest rates.

A Goldman Sachs report further exacerbated the situation after it predicted FED to hike interest rates four times this year. According to the analysts, the FED will commence the process as early as this July, with interest rates to rise in March, June, September, and now December.

While there is no direct correlation between Bitcoin price and its hashrate, the recent political upheaval in Kazakhstan may have also contributed to the downfall. Several protestors took to the streets to oppose the sharp rise in fuel prices in the country.

The protests resulted in the country’s state-owned Kazakhtelecom shutting down the internet, making the Bitcoin network inaccessible to miners. Bitcoin hashrate fell by more than 13% following the hours of the shutdown.

Meanwhile, the Altcoin situation is no different as Ethereum temporarily fell below $3,000 on January 10 before rising to its support level of $4,000. At the time of publication, the king altcoin was trading at $3,035, down 2.38% from the previous day.

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