Bitcoin, the king of crypto, witnessed a steep decline as the price plunged below $44,000. According to media reports, Bitcoin fell sharply after the Federal Reserve released the documents of its meeting held in December 2021. The released documents indicated that the interest rates could rise as early as March 2022 in a bid to address the growing concern around inflation. The fall of Bitcoin, trading at $43,242 as of January 6, 2022, indicates that the cryptocurrency is vulnerable to monetary control.

While the prices may have dipped drastically, the adoption of Bitcoin on a broader scale has continued to grow. According to a media report, digital remittance giant MoneyGram has announced a strategic investment in the Bitcoin crypto exchange, Coinme. Coinme is a trading platform for Bitcoin and also provides Bitcoin ATM services. MoneyGram has acquired a 4% stake in the trading platform for an undisclosed amount.

Commenting on the investment, MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes stated that the platform is bullish about the growing opportunities within the crypto industry. “Our investment in Coinme further strengthens our partnership and compliments our shared vision to expand access to digital assets and cryptocurrencies,” he added. Coincidentally, MoneyGram made a press release about the event on the same day when Bitcoin prices slipped to below $44,000. 

Furthermore, optimistic forecasts like this Bitcoin price prediction from mainstream financial experts continue to dominate perception. Goldman Sachs analyst Zach Pandl has reportedly informed their clients that Bitcoin will eat up the market share of gold in 2022. Pandl indicated that the digital asset would become widely adopted in a note to the clients, stating that BTC currently holds a 20% share of the gold market. In their prediction for 2022, the elite investment firm also mentioned that Bitcoin would eventually become more prominent than gold, stating that Bitcoin will hit the $100,000 mark if it hypothetically captures 50% of the gold market. 

Coming back to the recent slip, it is worth noting that Bitcoin has not recovered entirely from the radical fall in November from its peak price of $69,000. However, the recent dip below $44,000 is not BTC’s isolated fall. Other popular cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Shiba Inu, Cardano, Solana, etc., also witnessed a substantial drop.