Bitcoin Slumps Below $20,000 as Cryptocurrency Rout Rolls On


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This article originally appeared on MarketWatch.

Bitcoin traded below $20,000 on Saturday, extending the slide that has wiped out trillions in market value from cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin traded down 8% to $19,029, extending a slide from its November peak of $68,924.78. The slide coincides with the Federal Reserve announcing, and then starting, its interest-rate hike campaign, with expectations the Fed funds rate may reach 4%.

Broader signs of trouble in crypto markets emerged with the May collapse of the Terra blockchain, and got worse this week following crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd.’s decision to halt withdrawals. 

In addition, crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital suffered large losses and said it was considering asset sales or a bailout, while another lender, Babel Finance, followed in Celsius’s footsteps on Friday. 

The Bitcoin decline means it’s actually taken out the high from the past cycle.

Ethereum also broke through a key level, sliding 10% to $987.59.

Cryptocurrencies often fluctuate wildly on the weekends, when other financial markets are closed.

Altcoins were no exception to soured investor appetite in the wake of Bitcoin’s fall, Bloomberg reported. Cardano, Solana, Dogecoin and Polkadot recorded 24-hour falls of between 7% and 10% on Saturday, while privacy tokens such as Monero and Zcash lost as much as 9%. 

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2022-06-18 13:14:00

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