Bitcoin’s unrelenting selloff puts prices on verge of $20,000 as market shows signs of panic
There’s a growing sense of anxiety about the stability of crypto projects large and small. Tron founder Justin Sun’s roughly month-old stablecoin USDD drifted from its intended dollar peg, at one point dipping below 96 cents, data from CoinGecko show. A tweet from the co-founder of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital fuelled speculation that it had suffered large losses.
Bitcoin fell as much as 8.6 per cent on Wednesday to US$20,081.95. The largest token has fallen for nine straight days, the longest losing streak since 2014. Ether was on the cusp of breaking the US$1,000 mark after a 10 per cent plunge.
A market that started sliding late last year on expectations of tighter monetary policy is now showing signs of widespread panic, after last month’s collapse of the Terra blockchain and the recent decision by crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd. to halt withdrawals. Even long-term holders who have avoided selling until now are coming under pressure.
Adding to the market’s nerves, the founder of Three Arrows Capital, an influential hedge fund that has been liquidating crypto holdings, posted a vague tweet. “We are in the process of communicating with relevant parties and fully committed to working this out,” former Credit Suisse Group AG trader Zhu Su tweeted from his verified account, without providing further details.
The crypto market now stands at a fraction of its heights in late 2021, when Bitcoin traded at a heady US$65,000 and traders poured cash into speculative investments of all stripes. The total market cap of cryptocurrencies is US$925 billion, down from US$3 trillion in November, according to CoinGecko.
With prices continuing to dive, there are more predictions that losses will accelerate if key levels are broken.
If these levels break, US$20,000 Bitcoin and US$1,000 Ether, we can expect massive sell pressure in the spot markets as dealers hedge themselves.https://financialpost.com/fp-finance/cryptocurrency/bitcoin-unrelenting-selloff-puts-prices-verge-20000-market-signs-panic