Over $800bn evaporates from global crypto market after bitcoin crash
06:41, 20 May 2021
The world’s cryptocurrencies have lost $800bn in market value from a record high on 12 May after a string of bad news and bearish technical signals shook investor confidence in the asset class.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, accounted for almost half of that loss. The past 24 hours have been particularly difficult for crypto traders as extreme volatility wiped out many trading accounts. Over 730,000 trading positions worth over $8bn were liquidated in 24 hours, 85% of them being long positions, according to Bybt.com, which aggregates data from the leading crypto exchanges.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures the current sentiment of the bitcoin market, dropped to 11 on Thursday, its lowest level in 12 months, signalling “extreme fear”, according to Bybt.com.
High tides for Bicoin investors
Bitcoin had its most turbulent day on Wednesday. Reports suggesting that China would further toughen rules against cryptocurrency trading sent bitcoin from $43,000 to under $40,000 in early morning. But that was just the beginning. During the European afternoon, the digital token took a further plunge to levels below $30,000 before quickly rebounding to about $37,000.
But it didn’t end there. After testing the $40,000 ceiling twice, bitcoin took another dive under $35,000 overnight, after which it turned back to $40,000.
Other major cryptocurrencies more or less mirrored bitcoin’s double dip but not all of them managed to recover so quickly. Ethereum (ETH) was down 6% in 24 hours as of 09:39 CEST (UTC + 2), while Binance was down 11% and Dodgcoin was 6% lower.
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Cryptos are still on a plus this year
In spite of their recent drops, cryptocurrencies are still trading higher than at the beginning of this year. The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization is now more than double compared to early January and Bitcoin’s price is still up by about a third year-to-date.
However, those who were hoping to see Bitcoin reach $100,000 may have to wait following the latest bearish turn in market trend.
Read more: Bitcoin bounces back after plunging almost 30% to ,000
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