Ankara:Bitcoin has experienced a significant setback in October, falling by 7.4% to a value of $77,437. This decline marks the end of its recent three-month winning streak and has been attributed to high global interest rates and a major cyberattack on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, the decline in Bitcoin's value led to a substantial reduction in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, wiping out approximately $265 billion and reducing the total market capitalization to $2.6 trillion.

The drop follows a strong performance in the third quarter, where Bitcoin surged by 42.5%, recovering from earlier losses of 22.1% in the first quarter and 13.9% in the second quarter. Throughout the summer, Bitcoin showed significant gains, rising 7.2% in July, 25.3% in August, and peaking at 6.1% in September.

Mete Ali Baskaya, a blockchain and crypto asset strategist, noted that factors such as elevated US interest rates, rising bond yields, and sell-offs in the tech sector were already causing investors to move away from risk assets before the Binance incident. The cyberattack on Binance compromised an estimated $6.3 billion in assets, further intensifying market selling pressure.

In response, Binance announced it would use company funds to cover user losses and began restoring withdrawals in phases. Following the resumption of withdrawals, the platform recorded a net outflow of approximately $3.64 billion. Although the security breach affected centralized exchange infrastructure, it did not compromise the Bitcoin blockchain network, but the incident still had a significant impact on market sentiment.

Baskaya added that the future direction of Bitcoin in November will depend on factors such as the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy, bond yields, institutional fund flows, and the recovery of investor confidence.