Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Drop as Stock Market Weakness Weighs on Digital-Asset Prices

The selloff also appeared to weigh on shares in MicroStrategy, the business software company that owns nearly 450,000 Bitcoins.

The selloff in U.S. stocks also appeared to weigh on shares in MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), the business software company that owns nearly 450,000 Bitcoins. The stock slid 0.2% ahead of the opening bell.

The end-of-week drop could be a sign that a recent bout of stock market weakness is weighing on digital-asset prices.

The benchmark S&P 500 U.S. index is on its longest losing streak since April as investors fret about elevated interest rates and persistent inflation, while Chinese stocks are also tumbling amid signs that the Asian country’s economy is faltering. Stocks and cryptocurrencies tend to be correlated because when equity prices fall, investors have less money to plow into Bitcoin and other tokens.

“Like in late December, the market is stalling…This time, the positive mood of cryptocurrency enthusiasts was undermined by a sharp downward reversal in the U.S. and Chinese stock markets,” FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said Friday.

“We should be prepared for a strengthening of selling, as we are currently seeing in equities,” he added.