Bitcoin retreats for third straight day, sitting on key support level

Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) fell for the third consecutive session on Friday as risk sentiment across other asset classes waned against a backdrop of concerns about economic prospects. Trading 1.8% lower as of shortly before 10:30 a.m. ET, bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) was priced at $28.19K, sitting just above a key support level of $28K -- the summer 2021 low. "From a technical analysis perspective this is a pivotal moment for Bitcoin," said Marcus Sotiriou, market analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock. "If $28,000 fails to hold on the daily time frame, this would signal a deviation back into the range which it just broke out of (a 10-month consolidation)." Sotiriou attributed the recent pullback in BTC -- down 7% in the past five sessions -- in part to the U.K.'s latest inflation data , which showed consumer prices in the country still remained stubbornly high. That might spur the Bank of England to hike interest rates even more, in a move that could bode poorly for the price of BTC. "However, the UK real yield curve remains extremely low, which means that the current monetary policy might not induce sufficient tightening," he wrote in a note. "We are already seeing stagnant demand as UK real GDP is still below Q4 2019, and unemployment increased to 3.8%." Bitcoin's ( BTC-USD ) extended losses were accompanied by choppy sentiment toward the stock market, with major market averages swinging between gains and losses. Crypto-exposed stocks, too, were mixed. Coinbase ( COIN ), -0.6% , Riot platforms ( RIOT ), -0.3% , Greenidge Generation ( GREE ), -2.6% , and Galaxy Digital ( OTCPK:BRPHF ), -2.1% , changed hands in the red, while MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), +0.7% , Core Scientific ( OTCPK:CORZQ ), +7.6% , and Bit Digital ( BTBT ), +5.2% , saw some buying pressure. Seeking Alpha contributor Kevin George dived deeper into the bitcoin bull's bad week .