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Bitcoin (BTC) has been on a decline since reaching $31,000 just a week ago, causing a sharp drop in related stocks during Thursday's trading. As of press time, Bitcoin's value has decreased by 3.4% over the last 24 hours, currently standing at $28,200.

Bitcoin mining companies took the biggest hit, with Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) stocks both dropping by roughly 10%, while Hut 8 Mining (HUT) experienced a 9% decrease in their stock price.

The stocks of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) – a company holding 140,000 bitcoins in its treasury – both experienced a decline of over 6%.

Traders were unable to pinpoint any specific news that caused Bitcoin to drop by over 3% on Thursday. However, the UK consumer price report on Wednesday morning, which revealed unexpected inflation levels above 10% in March, dampened the sentiment of those who anticipated Western central banks to decrease or even reverse their recent rate hikes.

On the flip side, economic data from the United States released on Thursday morning indicated some signs of weakness. Initial jobless claims increased by 5,000 to 245,000, while the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for April dropped to -31.30, below expectations of -19.2 and last month's reading of -23.2. Additionally, existing home sales for March decreased by 2.4% instead of meeting forecasts of a 5% increase.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will convene for their next meeting in two weeks, and short-term rate traders have almost fully priced in another 25-basis point rate hike. Just a week ago, traders' expectations for another rate hike were around 70%.

Source Coindesk