Bitcoin, Ether Hit multi-month Lows as Recession Worries Take Hold

A souvenir bitcoin token is seen pictured with a 100 ruble bill in Moscow on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
A souvenir bitcoin token is seen pictured with a 100 ruble bill in Moscow on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
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Bitcoin, Ether Hit multi-month Lows as Recession Worries Take Hold

A souvenir bitcoin token is seen pictured with a 100 ruble bill in Moscow on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
A souvenir bitcoin token is seen pictured with a 100 ruble bill in Moscow on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

Bitcoin and ether plunged on Monday to multi-month lows as worries over a possible US recession in the wake of soft data gripped financial markets and triggered a rush to safe-haven assets.
Crypto markets have gotten a boost this year after the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved an exchange-traded fund to track the spot price of bitcoin and ether.
More recently, however, bitcoin has fallen alongside other assets including global equities in a broad selloff as investors fear a US recession could be on the horizon, with rising geopolitical worries also weighing. It has lost over a third of its value since hitting a record high in March.
"It's a big reminder that bitcoin and crypto in general are risk assets and sit at the pointy end of the risk spectrum," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG.
Bitcoin fell 13% from its close on Sunday to $51,560, heading for its largest one-day fall since November 2022 and its lowest since February. Ether slid 17% to its lowest since mid-January at $2,277.
Sycamore said bitcoin was testing trend channel support at the $54,000/$53,000 area and needed to hold there to "prevent further capitulation towards $48,000."
Shares in crypto-related US stocks listed in Frankfurt fell heavily in early trading on Monday, with Coinbase down over 18%, while those in miners Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital were down 17.7% and 20%, respectively.



Egypt Seeking to Boost Africa’s Financial Resources from International Institutions

A woman works at a factory in Accra, Ghana. (World Bank)
A woman works at a factory in Accra, Ghana. (World Bank)
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Egypt Seeking to Boost Africa’s Financial Resources from International Institutions

A woman works at a factory in Accra, Ghana. (World Bank)
A woman works at a factory in Accra, Ghana. (World Bank)

Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said her country is currently working to boost the financial space available to African countries from international institutions, with the aim to implement the 2063 Development Agenda.

Speaking during the 2024 African Caucus Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, the minister stressed the importance of the ongoing discussions between the African Group and the World Bank to bolster joint cooperation with one of the largest multilateral development banks, to overcome the development challenges facing African countries, and push towards achieving the Development Agenda.

The meeting, hosted by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group governors, aimed to identify ways to accelerate intra-African trade as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth.

“We are working to expand the financial resources available to African countries from international institutions to support the implementation of the 2063 development agenda,” Al-Mashat told the attendees.

She added that Egypt was seeking to integrate more deeply with its African counterparts, as outlined in its Vision 2030 plan, and to promote intra-South cooperation to share development experiences and best practices.

During the meetings, World Bank officials presented the group’s strategy for regional integration in Africa and discussed the initiative that was launched between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank in April.

The initiative aims to provide electricity to about 300 million people in Africa by 2030, through a partnership between multilateral development banks and private sector investments.

Participants also discussed the means to activate the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, by unifying payment systems at the continent level, enhancing digital transformation efforts, developing sustainable infrastructure, and adopting effective policies towards digital transformation.

Moreover, talks touched on the means to enable startups’ access to financing from the private sector and facilitate trade and regional integration in Africa.