As bitcoin is the number one digital currency in the world, it is easy to simply direct all of one’s attention to the asset as it continues to slump like it never has before. After reaching an all-time high of more than $64,000 per unit in April of this year, the currency has since lost more than half its value and is now trading for about $29,500 at the time of writing.
It’s Not Just Bitcoin That Has Taken a Dive
However, bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that is suffering, as many of the planet’s smaller altcoins – including meme currency Dogecoin, Ethereum, Ripple’s XRP and Solana – have all fallen to new lows. According to Pankaj Balani – chief executive of the Delta crypto exchange in Singapore – there are a wide array of reasons for why the crypto space is crashing right now. In a statement, he says:
There are multiple reasons for [bitcoin’s] near-term weakness, including fresh strength in the U.S. dollar because of hawkish Federal Reserve, China accelerating its ban on crypto mining firms and blocking banking services for crypto firms, and a lack of institutional interest in crypto. Having said that, we believe that there is not much downside for bitcoin in the short term as we trade near the bottom end of the $30,000-$42,000 range. In the short term, the macro environment does not look weak with broader markets continuing to rally and U.S. tech stocks posting all-time weekly highs. We expect bitcoin to bounce from here and challenge the $40,000 mark again in the coming weeks. $30,000 is the key level for traders to watch. A conclusive breakdown below $30,000 might be coupled with heavy selling activity in bitcoin and the entire crypto market.
It seems, however, that there is a problem with these statements in that bitcoin has indeed fallen below the $30,000 line. The currency may, like Balani suggests, now be poised for another massive sell-off that could see the world’s number one crypto asset take even further hits.
So Much Value Lost
In addition, it is quite shocking how much value bitcoin has lost in the past few weeks, as just a few weekends ago, the currency was trading in the low $40,000 range. That means that in less than two weeks, the digital asset has lost an additional $11,000 off its price.
But as mentioned before, BTC is not alone. Presently, Dogecoin – which recently became the fourth largest crypto by market cap – has fallen about 40 percent from the previous week and has lost more than 70 percent since Elon Musk made his acting debut as the host of “SNL.” Safe Moon is also down 11 percent, and the entire crypto market now boasts a total valuation of about $1.3 trillion – considerably less than the $2.5 trillion traders were witnessing in May.