More than $70 billion wiped off crypto market in 24 hours as bitcoin plunges 8%; sinks to a new low of $19,600

After several weeks of good news, Bitcoin experienced a significant drop on Friday and fell below the $20,000 mark, hitting a low point not seen in almost two months. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency plunges as low as $19,613 before recovering back to $19,865 as of the time of writing.

The latest decline was triggered by a stock market sell-off in the United States and the collapse of a lender focused on cryptocurrencies. As a result, the cryptocurrency market lost over $70 billion in value within a 24-hour period, ending at 5:12 a.m. Eastern Time.

That’s not all. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that interest rates could rise and remain higher than anticipated. The increase in interest rates over the past year has had a negative impact on risk assets, including stocks and cryptocurrencies.

According to Yuya Hasegawa, an analyst at Japanese cryptocurrency firm Bitbank, the current market is inundated with negative developments, not only within the crypto industry but also in the broader financial market. As a result, there seems to be little incentive to invest in bitcoin at present.

In an email to CNBC, Hasegawa said, “There is just little reason to buy bitcoin now as the market is saturated with negative developments, not just specifically for the crypto industry, but also for the wider financial market as well.”