Topline
The value of top cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ether plummeted early Friday morning, derailing a weeks-long rally and shedding tens of billions in value in a matter of minutes as the market still reels in the wake of the devastating crash this summer.
Bitcoin prices fell on Friday morning.
Key Facts
The price of bitcoin, the most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization that makes up more than 38% the total market, fell to around $21,804 on Friday morning, a three-week low and down more than 7% from the day before.
A significant portion of this value dropped off in a matter of minutes amid a sharp selloff, the cause of which is not apparent.
Ether, the second most valuable cryptocurrency, also fell sharply and was down more than 6% in the last 24 hours to $1,730.
Other major tokens experienced similarly steep drops, including Binance’s BNB (7%), Ripple’s XRP (9%), Cardano’s ada (13%) and Solana’s sol (12%).
Popular dog-inspired assets dogecoin and shiba inu were down 14% and 13% over the same time period, respectively.
Though some assets have recovered slightly, values have broadly remained depressed around the fallen value following the selloff.
Big Number
$1.09 trillion. That’s how much the cryptocurrency market is worth, according to CoinGecko. The value of the market, which fell more than 6% in the last 24 hours, is a long way off the all time high of more than $3 trillion in late 2021.
Key Background
The majority of leading cryptocurrencies are still suffering from a market-wide crash that has obliterated around $2 trillion in value from the market since highs of late 2021. Record inflation and fears of recession have helped push the market into a crypto winter. Bitcoin is almost 70% off its record of nearly $69,000 in November 2021, Terra’s Luna—a stablecoin that was designed to be less volatile than other cryptocurrencies—went into freefall and collapsed, major crypto lender Celsius went under and aligned firms in the industry have laid off workers by the thousands.
Further Reading
Dow Falls Nearly 200 Points After Fed Minutes Signal More Rate Hikes Ahead (Forbes)
Ethereum’s ‘Merge’ Is a Big Deal for Crypto—and the Planet (Wired)
They Lost Crypto in the Crash. They’re Trying to Get It Back. (NYT)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/08/19/bitcoin-ether-among-major-cryptocurrencies-taking-a-nosedive-after-sudden-sell-off/