Bitcoin backs off three-week high, trades below $3,600

Bitcoin prices fell for the second straight day on Tuesday, easing off a three-week high put in on Friday.

In late-morning trading, one bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.38%  was fetching $3,576.10, down 0.5% since Monday's level at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken exchange. The cryptocurrency has slipped 4% from its Friday high above $3,700.

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What are analysts saying

"We expect the final wave of desperation to take us to the mid-to-high $2000's before the market starts the recovery," wrote Tim Kelly, founder and CEO of BitOoda, a digital asset advisory firm. "We could be wrong, of course, and until the 2018 low is taken out (it has not been revisited yet), there is a possibility that the selloff is done."

Kelly added that his downside target is $2,400 to $2,800 but a short covering rally could "easily take BTC to $4030-$4300 cluster of previous highs or even to $5600-$6000 support level that has become resistance"

In the news

Speaking at the Inside ETFs conference in Florida, Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines said a bitcoin-related exchange traded fund is only a matter of time. "It's virtually certain. The only question is when," he told CNBC late Monday.

Morgan Creek Digital said Tuesday it had raised more than $40 million for a venture capital fund, including investments from two pension funds in Fairfax County, Virginia. Anthony Pompliano, the founder of the North Carolina-based fund, told CoinDesk he believes its the first crypto-related fund to raise money from a public pension.

Morgan Creek Digital is a subsidiary of Morgan Creek Capital Management.

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Altcoins and futures

Altcoins — the collective group of more than 2,000 cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin — were mostly lower on Tuesday. Ether ETHUSD, -0.56% fell 0.7% to $118.62, Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD, -0.08% was down 1.2% to $119.50, XRP XRPUSD, +0.04% lost 0.6% to 30 cents and Litecoin, LTCUSD, +1.14% rose 1% to $42.57.

Bitcoin futures were moving lower on Tuesday. The Cboe Global Markets February contract XBTG9, -0.42% fell 0.8% to $3,565, while the CME Group February contract BTCG9, -0.55% was down 0.8% at $3,575.

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Aaron Hankin

Aaron Hankin is a MarketWatch reporter in New York who covers cryptocurrency and financial markets.

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Comment Quote References BTCUSD -13.63 -0.38% ETHUSD -0.67 -0.56% BCHUSD -0.10 -0.08% XRPUSD +0.00 +0.04% LTCUSD +0.48 +1.14% XBTG9 -15.00 -0.42% BTCG9 -20.00 -0.55% Show all references MarketWatch Partner Center Most Popular