Bitcoin extends retreat from record high to hit lowest in 20 days

Bitcoin fell to its lowest since Feb. 8 in thin trade on Sunday, down 3.7% from Friday’s close as the pullback from a record high near $60,000 continued.

The world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has risen as much as 70% since the start of the year, hitting a record high of $58,354.14 one week ago amid increasing confidence that it will become a mainstream investment and payments vehicle.

Earlier on February 26, Bitcoin had fallen over 6% on Friday to its lowest in two weeks as a rout in global bond markets sent yields flying and sparked a sell-off in riskier assets.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency had slumped as low as $44,451 before recovering most of its losses. It had been the last trading down 1.2% at $46,525, on course for a drop of almost 20% this week, which would be its heaviest weekly loss since March last year.

The sell-off had echoed that in equity markets, where European stocks tumbled as much as 1.5%, with concerns over lofty valuations also hammering demand. Asian stocks had fallen by the most in nine months.