Bitcoin Drops Below $20,000 As Crypto Crash Continues

Topline

Bitcoin fell under $20,000 for the first time since December 2020 on Saturday as the cryptocurrency market continues to reel from job cuts, rumors about impending insolvency at major crypto firms and a steep interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Key Facts

Bitcoin was trading at $19,420 at 7:30 a.m. ET, down 8.1% over the past 24 hours.

Over the past seven days, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency has dropped 33%, causing its total market cap to slump from $580 billion to $370 billion.

Since hitting an all-time high of $68,990 in November last year, the cryptocurrency has now fallen in value by more than 70%.

Ethereum slid another 8.4% over the past 24 hours to $1,011, off 39% from a week ago, while other currencies affected by the selloff included BNB, down 6.5% over the past 24 hours, Dogecoin (-4.9%) and Solana (-4.3%).

The sharp downturn in prices began earlier this week after major crypto lender Celsius announced it was halting all withdrawals, raising fears about its future.

On Tuesday, rumors popped up about crypto-focused Singapore-based hedge fund Three Arrows Capital facing possible insolvency after it dumped $40 million of staked Ether tokens.

The issue was further compounded after Three Arrows Capital co-founder Su Zhu cryptically tweeted that his company was “communicating with relevant parties and fully committed to working this out,” without offering any additional details.

Big Number

$891.4 Billion. That is the current total market cap of all cryptocurrencies in circulation according to CoinMarketCap. The number fell below $1 trillion for the first time in over a year on Monday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Read more at www.forbes.com