Bitcoin price tanks alongside ether as traditional markets are mostly flat

by Christiana Loureiro and Frank Chaparro

Companies • April 21, 2023, 5:51PM EDT

Quick Take

Cryptocurrency prices declined on Friday while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were mostly flat.
The Financial Times reported that the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan would steer clear of future investments in crypto.

Bitcoin and ether tumbled on Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes were mostly flat for the day.

Bitcoin fell 3.5% over the past 24 hours to trade at $27,271, according to data from TradingView. Ether was down nearly 5%.

It's never exactly clear what drives price gyrations in the volatile market for digital currencies, but Matt Klein, a portfolio strategist at Nascent, chalked up the downward pressure to waning exuberance.

In a message to The Block, the Web3 investor said "speculators have begun to risk off as signs of euphoria manifested in a DOGE rally leading into 4/20 as well as a memecoin PEPE dominating activity on chain."

Daniel Matuszewski of investment firm CMS described it as "pre-selling before May and go away."

Bitcoin price declines

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via TradingView

Elsewhere, the Financial Times reported earlier in the day that the gigantic Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan would steer clear from future investments in crypto after it wrote off a $95 million investment into the failed FTX exchange.

"We’re still working through what exactly happened there and you’re going to be careful,” the Financial Times reported OTPP chief executive Jo Taylor as saying.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, meanwhile, said it wants to tighten rules on risk assessment and for nonbank companies.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both ended the day up about 0.1%.

About Authors

Christiana is a long-time journalist who has written about markets in the Americas, politicians who stashed cash in their underwear and high-end heels, to name just a few. She previously spent six years at Bloomberg, and her work has appeared in the WSJ, LA Times, Insider, Vogue Business and more. Christiana has a bachelor's degree in English from Pace University and a master's degree in journalism from New York University. She completed a master's degree in media psychology for fun.

Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].