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Bitcoin Nears $20,000 as Speculators Flee Crypto

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Bitcoin prices dipped again last night as speculators continued to flee cryptocurrencies. The drop is causing trouble for some hedge funds, which apparently weren’t hedged enough. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Cryptocurrencies extended their slide Wednesday, with bitcoin on the verge of falling below $20,000 for the first time since December 2020.

Bitcoin’s price fell to around $20,526.57 in early U.S. trading. That marks a 6.7% drop from Tuesday’s 5 p.m. ET price and a 70% plunge from a high of $68,990.90 reached in November 2021, according to CoinDesk.

The rout in cryptocurrencies has wiped out roughly 1½ years of gains for bitcoin, which started to soar at the end of 2020 as speculative fervor washed over financial markets.

Since late last year, the air has been leaking out of cryptocurrencies, with investors pulling back from riskier assets in anticipation of easy-money market conditions coming to an end.

Two high-profile incidents in recent weeks have accelerated cryptocurrencies’ fall. In May, the collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister token Luna prompted a selloff across cryptocurrencies. Then, on Sunday, Celsius Network, one of the largest crypto lenders, said it was pausing all withdrawals, swaps and transfers, sparking further panic.

The pain in cryptocurrency markets has been broad. The price of ether, the in-house currency of the Ethereum network, fell to $1,054.27 Wednesday, down 11% from its 5 p.m. ET level Tuesday. Cardano’s ada token and even joke cryptocurrency dogecoin slid.

The latest sign of stress and confusion came from a vague tweet from the co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, a hedge fund that invested heavily in cryptocurrencies. “We are in the process of communicating with relevant parties and fully committed to working this out,” the tweet said. No further detail was provided. Three Arrows didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Action Line: As an investor, you never want to be referred to as a “relevant party,” by someone who is supposed to be managing your money. Instead, find someone who has a fiduciary duty to you, and will exercise it via adherence to the Prudent Man Rule. If you need help building a plan that focused on dividend-centric income-investing, let’s talk.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com