Bitcoin tumbles below $33,000, down about 50% from high

Bitcoin slumped to a level last seen in July 2021, part of a wider retreat in cryptocurrencies triggered by a global flight from riskier investments.

The world's largest digital token fell as much as 5.1% on May 9 and traded at around $32,630 at 10:47 a.m. in New York. Ether fell as much as 7%, while Solana dropped 7.3% and Avalanche dipped 9.4%.

Michael Novogratz, the billionaire cryptocurrency investor who leads Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., warned that he expects things to get worse before they get better.

"Crypto probably trades correlated to the Nasdaq until we hit a new equilibrium," Novogratz said on Galaxy's first-quarter earnings call on May 9.

"My instinct is there's some more damage to be done, and that will trade in a very choppy, volatile and difficult market for at least the next few quarters before people are getting some sense that we're at an equilibrium."