© Reuters.
By Daniel Shvartsman
Investing.com – dipped below $20,000 in early trading on Saturday morning as continued cryptocurrency bear markets dragged several top cryptocurrencies past key sentimental or technical levels.
The indeed marked a trough at around $17,600 on Saturday evening, down 14% from the previous day. broke below the $1,000 mark to mark a low at $883. The , the and the were also down sharply, continuing what has been a nightmarish week and quarter for the sector.
Note, however, that the 2 main cryptocurrencies then rebounded slightly, Bitcoin moving towards $19,000 this Sunday while Ethereum is once again above $1,000.
Major stablecoins in particular did not move noticeably on Saturday, with the focus on whether they can hold their value and the extent of the impact if not. not the case. Tether saw its aggregate value fall below $70 billion this week, its lowest level in eight months, due to pressure from buyouts.
Bitcoin was hit the hardest around 8:45 a.m., losing more than 4% in the space of 15 minutes. It has fallen more than $10,000, or more than 35%, since last weekend, following a series of implosions in the cryptocurrency industry, from the halt in withdrawals at Celsius to the temporary pause in trading. withdrawals at Binance and, more recently, the halting of withdrawals at Babel Finance.
$20,000 has been talked about as a key sign of support from a technical standpoint, and this is symbolically significant given that bitcoin (and the sector as a whole) is trading at levels seen for the last time in early December 2020, erasing almost all of the bullish rally. They are also currently below the highs of 2017, the previous major bitcoin bull market. And in an industry where symbolism is important, crossing another major round number so soon after passing $30,000 can have resonance, with the same principle applying to $1,000 for Ethereum.
This general range has also been closely watched given concerns over leverage in crypto trading and the possible worsening of margin calls and forced selling. MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:), the technology company led by famed bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, has long been suspected of risking a margin call if bitcoin falls below $21,000.
With the market having decisively reached this point over the weekend, it seems likely that this cycle will see more twists, one way or another.