Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin Sinks Below $20,000 As Crypto Plunges Continue
(CTN News) – In a sign the crypto market selloff is deepening, Bitcoin’s price fell below $20,000 for the first time since late 2020.
The most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, suffered a 9 percent drop to less than $19,000, according to Coin Metrics data, a U.S.-based exchange platform.
It was at this level in November 2020, when it was on the way up to its all-time high of almost $69,000, when Bitcoin was last at this level.
Bitcoin and Ethereum fall to less than half of their all-time high
Since that peak, Bitcoin has lost more than 70 percent of its value.
Similarly, (ETH), another widely followed cryptocurrency, tumbled on Saturday.
Cryptocurrency industry turmoil is the latest sign of wider turbulence in the financial markets. Because central banks are raising interest rates to combat inflation, investors are selling off riskier assets.
Several crypto meltdowns have destroyed tens of billions of dollars of investor assets, prompting urgent calls to regulate the freewheeling industry.
This month, cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network stopped all withdrawals and transfers, with no indication when it would let its 1.7 million customers access their funds.
Tens of billions of dollars were erased in a matter of hours when USDT, a stablecoin on the Terra ecosystem, crashed last month.
Additionally, companies like Coinbase Global Inc, and Gemini have suffered losses. The companies expect to lay off thousands of employees as investors dump risky assets.
It confirmed just how interconnected big players in the cryptocurrency financial system are and how fast perceptions can spread.
