Bitcoin Declines 9% Percent Falling to US$18,740

Bitcoin declined 9% percent on Saturday, falling to $18,740, its lowest level since December 13, 2020. Since hitting a high of $68,991 on November 10, 2021.

Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has lost more than 72 percent of its value.

On Saturday, Bitcoin fell to $18,740 and rose to $18,941 at 1550 GMT, down eight percent from Friday.

Several other major digital currencies were also down on Saturday, including Ether, which lost nearly 10 percent of its value.

The global stock market plunged this week amid fears that inflation-fighting interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks could trigger a recession.

Bitcoin withdrawals suspended

In November of last year, the crypto market’s value reached $3 trillion. On Monday, that value fell below $1 trillion. The most significant losers have been cryptocurrency investors.

The suspension of bitcoin withdrawals by two cryptocurrency exchanges has accelerated the cryptocurrency’s fall.

Due to “extreme market conditions,” Celsius Network halted “all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts.”

Babel Finance said it was experiencing “unusual liquidity pressures.”

Binance, an exchange that supports bitcoin withdrawals, has temporarily suspended withdrawals and advised users to use other networks instead.

On Monday, Coinbase announced it was laying off 18 percent of its employees, or about 1,100 people, citing tight economic conditions and rapid expansion.

Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said, “We appear to be entering a recession after more than a decade of economic boom.”

Due to easy money policies implemented by the world’s largest central banks, the crypto sector has benefited from substantial cash infusions in recent years.

Due to inflation, monetary policy has become tighter around the world, leading to the collapse of the cryptocurrency industry.