After a record-breaking fall, Bitcoin and Ether have bounced off their lows

20 Jun 2022 , 10:58 AM

As evidence of rising stress inside the crypto industry continues to pile up against a backdrop of monetary tightening, Bitcoin has dropped through several well-observed price levels to its lowest level since late 2020.

In the last 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations totalled $566.7 million, with Bitcoin and Ether trading at about $271 million and $192 million, respectively.

The largest digital cryptocurrency by market value fell as much as 15% to $17,599 on Saturday, marking the 12th straight daily fall. It’s still the smallest decline since Monday. As of 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, the currency had regained some of its losses and was trading at $19,075 per dollar.

According to Coinglass data, total crypto market liquidations were $566.7 million in the last 24 hours, with Bitcoin and Ether trading at about $271 million and $192 million, respectively.

Bitcoin has already fallen below $19,511, the peak attained by the coin during its last bull cycle in 2017, which ended at the end of that year. Bitcoin has never fallen below the previous cycle high in its nearly 12-year trading history.

Altcoins were no exception in the aftermath of Bitcoin’s fall, with almost every major  token in the red. Cardano, Solana, Dogecoin, and Polkadot all lost 12% to 14% of their value, while privacy tokens like Monero and Zcash lost up to 16% of their value.

A poisonous cocktail of unfavourable news cycles and rising interest rates has damaged riskier investments like cryptocurrency. The Federal Reserve raised its main interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on June 15, the highest increase since 1994, and central bankers have signalled that they will keep hiking aggressively this year to combat inflation.