LONDON/TOKYO: Bitcoin fell sharply on Monday, losing ground from a record high of $34,800 touched a day earlier, with traders citing volatility in highly leveraged futures markets.
Bitcoin fell over 14 percent after earlier touching as high as $33,670, wiping out more than half its 20 percent rally from New Year’s Eve to a record $34,800 on Sunday.
Bitcoin was last down 9 percent at $30,077.
A functioning cryptocurrency derivatives market has developed since 2017, with offshore exchanges still offering highly leveraged trading. Moves in such markets can have an outsized effect on bitcoin’s price.
“It’s the unwinding of some of that leverage,” said Richard Galvin of crypto fund Digital Asset Capital Management.
Bitcoin’s record high came less than three weeks after it crossed $20,000 for the first time, on Dec. 16. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency more than quadrupled in price last year.
Traders said bitcoin’s drop on Monday was not unusual for the volatile asset, whose wild price swings have in part prevented it from becoming widely used as a currency.
“It’s still an unavoidably volatile asset by its nature,” said Joseph Edwards of crypto brokerage Enigma Securities.
“For the most part, this looks like a purely technical move, signaled and caused by short-term euphoria,” he added.
Fueling bitcoin’s rally has been the perception it can act as a hedge against the risk of inflation as governments and central banks turn on the stimulus taps to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some of it is reflecting the fear of a weaker dollar,” Bank of Singapore currency analyst Moh Siong Sim said of its most recent rally.
Bitcoin’s advance has also reflected expectations it will become a mainstream payment method. Its potential for quick gains has also attracted demand from larger US investors.
Bitcoin slumps, slamming brakes on New Year rally
https://arab.news/whjxk
Bitcoin slumps, slamming brakes on New Year rally
- Bitcoin fell over 14 percent after earlier touching as high as $33,670
- Traders said bitcoin’s drop on Monday was not unusual for the volatile asset
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
