Hassan Maishera
TLDR;
- Bitcoin has dropped below the $19k level, erasing most of the gains it had recorded this year.
- The liquidation of the crypto-friendly Silvergate bank and a possible government sale of Silk Road-related bitcoin contributed to the current bearish situation.
Bitcoin Slips Below $20k
Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, has dropped below the $20k level for the first time in months.
At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $19,955, down by 8% in the last 24 hours. The world’s leading cryptocurrency could see its price dip even lower over the next few hours as the market remains bearish.
The poor performance comes following a wave of bearish news in recent days. First, it was the voluntary liquidation of the crypto-friendly bank Silvergate earlier this week. Silvergate is a major player in the cryptocurrency space as it allows numerous crypto companies and exchanges to process ACH payments for their clients.
With the collapse of Silvergate, several crypto companies have temporarily halted their ACH payment option, pending another alternative. FTX’s collapse in November last year affected Silvergate’s operations, and the bank has become the latest victim of the FTX debacle.
Bitcoin dropped to roughly $14,000 following the FTX collapse in November 2022. However, BTC’s price went up by more than 50% in 2023, reaching a yearly high of $25,000 in mid-February.
However, BTC has struggled since then and has now erased its 2023 gains.
Powell’s Speech And Possible Sell Of Silk Road Bitcoins Adds To The Woes
Certain bearish news contributed further to Bitcoin’s poor performance in recent days. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress that the apex bank has more work to do to bring inflation figures back to its 2% target.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice moved 49,000 bitcoins seized from the darknet marketplace Silk Road to new addresses. The move sparked fears amongst the crypto community that the government may have an interest in selling those coins.
As a result of the recent bearish move, Bitcoin traders lost $112 million in the past 24 hours. Ether traders were also liquidated to the sum of $73 million. Overall, cryptocurrency traders suffered liquidations worth over $300 million over the last 24 hours, according to the data obtained from Coinglass.
