Bitcoin, the leading virtual asset, fell to the $77,000 level on weaker expectations for a U.S. Central Bank interest rate cut and outflows of institutional funds.

According to the virtual asset market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 8:15 a.m. on the 18th, bitcoin was trading at $77,785, down 0.47% from the previous day.

Bitcoin prices appear on the electronic board at the Bithumb Lounge Gangnam branch in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

The day's decline in bitcoin appears to reflect weakened expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Federal Reserve System) on concerns over surging inflation. As tensions between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz flared again, worries grew that rising oil prices could again add to inflation pressures.

Institutional fund outflows from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) are also weighing on bitcoin. According to the virtual asset information platform SoSoValue, there was a net outflow of $635 million from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs in a single day, and about $1.26 billion has exited over the past five trading days.

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