On Monday, the price of bitcoin plunged below $55,000, shedding 10% of its price, amid growing fears of a slowdown in growth and a looming recession. The moment marks a precipitous turn for a market that has largely rode a wave of upward growth during the past year, particularly on the heels of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

In the last 24 hours, bitcoin's price dropped below $50,000, although it did rebound to around $54,000 at the time of writing. The shift marks one of the lowest prices for the world's largest cryptocurrency since February. A myriad of factors are impacting bitcoin's performance: Ongoing tensions in the Middle East, fears of a Fed policy mistake, and other macroeconomic factors are shaking bitcoin investor confidence.

"[There are] just some signs that potentially the [U.S.] market is slowing down a bit. I think that also spooked some people on Friday and you’re also seeing the Japanese market was already closed when that happened so you’re seeing Japan react to those things that happen last week,” Shanti Kelemen, chief investment officer at M&G Wealth, told BBC Today.

“The brutal sell-off we’ve seen in bitcoin over the weekend should serve as a warning to those suggesting and celebrating the idea of holding BTC as a U.S. treasury asset," Michael Brescia, CEO and co-founder of Cerus Markets, said, adding that the world's leading cryptocurrency was expected to continue sliding during the U.S. session.

Brescia also cautioned the U.S. not to stockpile bitcoin in its national reserves. "One day, bitcoin may well become bigger than gold, but today it is not even one-fifteenth the size. As such, there is a long, long way to go before we should even contemplate including such a volatile asset in our national reserves.”

"We are entering a questionable period for stock markets, one which some have been predicting since inflation reared its head again, and fears of a global recession are mounting," he explained. "Whether or not this materializes, we can be thankful that U.S. reserves are not linked to bitcoin."