Bitcoin (BTC) posted its worst quarter in more than a decade

Bitcoin on Thursday posted its worst quarterly loss in more than a decade.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has lost around 58% of its value in the second quarter of 2022, according to data from CryptoCompare. Bitcoin has fallen from $45,524 at the start of the quarter and traded just below $19,000 on Thursday, the last day of the three-month period.

This is the worst quarterly performance for bitcoin since the third quarter of 2011, when it lost 68.2% of its value.

Bitcoin is down 39.8% in June and is on pace for its worst month ever dating back to 2010 when it became available on exchanges, Coin Metrics data shows.

Meanwhile, ether is down 69.3% in the second quarter and is on track for its worst quarter ever, dating back to its inception in 2015, according to Coin Metrics data.

Cryptocurrency prices have come under intense pressure this quarter amid rampant inflation that has prompted central banks around the world to raise interest rates and led to a sell-off in risky assets, such as stocks and digital coins.

The crash in prices has also exposed problems with a number of cryptocurrency companies and projects, especially those in the lending space and firms that are heavily leveraged.

A number of high-profile cases have come to light during the quarter.

The latest downturn is being described as a new “crypto winter” and has also affected growth and employment in companies. Coinbase and BlockFi announced plans to lay off employees.

Jacob Joseph, research analyst at CryptoCompare, notes that bitcoin fell from a peak of $19,871 in the fourth quarter of 2017 to a low of $3,170 in the fourth quarter of 2018 in the previous boom and bust cycle, a decline of 8%.

Joseph said a similar drop of 82.2% was seen in 2014 when bitcoin fell from a high of $1,239 in the fourth quarter of 2013 to a low of $221 in the second quarter of 2015.

“This suggests that we may be in for a further contractionary period if the current poor macroeconomic conditions continue,” Joseph told CNBC.

Other investors have expressed bearishness. In May, Guggenheim Chief Investment Officer Scott Minerd said bitcoin could fall to $8,000. At the time, the cryptocurrency was trading at around $30,000, which equates to a 70% drop.

— CNBC’s Gina Francolla contributed to this article.