Bitcoin Dives Under $56K as Asian Equities See Red

Bitcoin (BTC) fell to its lowest level since early August in Asian morning hours Wednesday after steep losses in U.S. and Asian equity markets saw some major stocks tumble nearly 10%.

BTC briefly fell to $55,500, its lowest since August 8, to reverse nearly all gains in the past month. The broader market tracked by CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens by market capitalization, fell nearly 6%. Major tokens solana’s SOL and ether (ETH) dropped over 7%, leading losses.

U.S. stocks tracked by Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 fell as much as 3.5% lower on Tuesday to kick off a historically bearish September month as weak manufacturing data reignited concerns over an economic slowdown. The move spread over to Asian markets as Japan’s Nikkei slid more than 4% in the hours after opening – exacerbating tremors from last month’s Yen carry trade unwinding.

The August reading of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index slumped for a fifth straight month with a rebound from July but remaining below the 50 threshold. The index is a monthly gauge on the level of economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector and is considered to be a sign of the broader economy.