INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Bitcoin lost as much as 21% since Fridays stock-market close.New Delhi: A brutal bout of selling that wiped billions of dollars from
profitless growth companies, IPO stocks and SPACs has now caught up with Bitcoin, further stressing risk tolerances and brokerage balances
among small-time traders.Retail dip-buyers, whose willingness to stand firm amid turmoil has helped power the S-P 500 to a 21% gain in 2021,
are nursing some of their worst wounds of the year as losses pile up in speculative corners
A hawkish turn from the Federal Reserve and the omicron variant have erased more than 10% off the market value of cryptocurrencies, $50
billion from newly public companies and 14% from a basket of meme stocks.While day-trader resolve has been tested before, it's been years
since it happened without the open-ended support from central banks, whose changing tone around inflation sent risk markets spinning last
potential to lower confidence among the larger population of bettors, a concept described as negative wealth effect
The cryptocurrency lost as much as 21% since Friday's stock-market close and swung wildly throughout the weekend
The decline brought it down to around $42,290 at one point, well below its record high of near $69,000 just a few weeks ago
Meanwhile, Bitcoin futures open interest is also plunging and funding rates on a few major exchanges turned negative, meaning those with
short positions are paying a premium -- all signs crypto positions are in a liquidation frenzy.The past week's retreat across stocks and
cryptocurrencies provided more evidence that Bitcoin is an imperfect hedge for institutional portfolios
While it has an alluringly near-zero correlation with major asset classes, whenever stocks have sold off 5% or more over a month over the
seen as a key risk-on/risk-off asset, so if it stays down -- and especially if it continues to fall -- it will be a big red warning flag for
near 13%, its worst week since February
An index of special purpose acquisition vehicles, or SPACs, lost around 6% in that period, its worst showing since March
traders are even souring on some big-tech names that had previously been market darlings, including Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc.,
which fell almost 8% over last week
That far outpaced losses among its megacap technology peers, but it wasn't met with the surge of buying from retail investors that's
at the beginning of the pandemic, Deutsche Bank AG strategists led by Parag Thatte wrote in a note Friday
It went from near the top of its historical range to around the 50th percentile, the lowest this year, they said.Doug Ramsey, Leuthold Group
chief investment officer, says his firm's internal measures of oversold conditions are extreme, down to levels that would be expected to
produce a rally even if stocks were in the midst of a major bear market, not the current bull run
