Bloomberg: Bitcoin and crypto markets have fallen significantly so far in August, while global stocks are returning to all-time highs

Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have fallen sharply so far this month, even as global stocks are returning to all-time highs after shaking off fears about U.S. growth. Bitcoin is down about 10% in August, lagging behind a nearly 1% gain in MSCI Inc.’s global stock index and gold’s run to an all-time high. The Bloomberg Global Bond Index is up nearly 2% over the same period. Analysts point to the risk of the U.S. government handling seized Bitcoin, whose addresses currently hold about $12 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, as one of the challenges facing digital assets. According to an analysis by Arkham Intelligence, on-chain data shows that the U.S. moved $600 million of seized Bitcoin to a wallet on an exchange operated by Coinbase Global Inc. last week. Khushboo Khullar, a venture partner at Lightning Ventures, which invests in Bitcoin-related companies, said the U.S. government’s potential sale of Bitcoin “has led to this temporary downward price pressure, but we don’t expect the impact to last long.” (Bloomberg)