Bitcoin tumbles into crypto crash

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The massive sell-off in cryptocurrencies also saw Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, plunge more than 10% during the day.

Reuters | Singapore, Bangalore, New York | Posted 05.12.21, 00:42 AM

Bitcoin plummeted on Saturday as a combination of profit taking and macroeconomic concerns triggered nearly $ 1 billion in cryptocurrency sales.

Bitcoin was down 12.7% as of 11:15 p.m. to $ 48,008.20. It fell as low as $ 41,967.5 during the session.

The massive sell-off of cryptocurrencies also saw Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, plunge more than 10% during the day. It was $ 4,021.17 at 11:15 p.m.

Based on the cryptocurrency data platform Coingecko, the market cap of the 11,392 coins it tracks fell almost 15% to $ 2.34 trillion at one point in the day. That value briefly crossed $ 3 trillion last month, when bitcoin hit a record high of $ 69,000.

The plunge follows a volatile week for financial markets. Global stocks and benchmark US bond yields fell on Friday after data showed US job growth slowed in November and the Omicron variant of the coronavirus kept investors on the lookout .

Justin d’Anethan, Hong Kong-based exchange sales manager at cryptocurrency exchange EQONEX, said he has observed the increase in leverage ratios in cryptocurrency markets as well as how whose large holders had moved their coins from wallets to exchanges. The latter is usually a sign of intention to sell.

“The whales in the crypto space appear to have moved coins to the trading platform, taken advantage of a bullish bias and the leverage of retail traders, and then brought prices down,” he said. -he declares.

The sale also comes ahead of testimonies from executives of eight major cryptocurrency firms, including Coinbase Global CFO Alesia Haas and FTX Trading CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, before the United States House Financial Services Committee. United on December 8.

The hearing marks the first time that major players in the crypto markets will testify before U.S. lawmakers, as policymakers grapple with the implications of cryptocurrencies and how best to regulate them.

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a second WisdomTree spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund proposal.

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