Bitcoin Breaks Below $20,000 Amid Market Selloff

Ethereum also dipped below $1,500 Saturday. 

Bitcoin Suffers in Market Dip 

The crypto market’s selloff hasn’t let up. 

Bitcoin briefly dipped below $20,000 Saturday, extending its weeks-long losing streak. According to CoinGecko data, it’s down about 3.9% today and 18% over the past 14 days. Bitcoin last dropped below the crucial $20,000 level in mid-July but has been hit by volatility in August. It’s currently trading at $19,996. 

The world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, also suffered as Bitcoin retraced. According to CoinGecko data, Ethereum is 7.6% down on the day, trading at about $1,475. Like Bitcoin, it’s had a rocky couple of weeks, shaving off about 24.7% of its market value. 

Several other assets, including Layer 1 networks Solana and Avalanche and DeFi staples Uniswap and Aave, have also bled in the downturn. 

A rally across the market throughout July and early August sparked hopes that the crypto market could be showing signs of life after a months-long slump. Anticipation surrounding Ethereum’s Merge event was a particularly potent narrative among crypto traders, particularly after its September launch date was scheduled. However, recent activity suggests that the market has lost some of the confidence it found earlier in the summer. 

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization is currently just over $1 trillion after taking a 6.1% hit. That’s about 66% short of its $3 trillion peak in November 2021. 

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH, AAVE, and several other cryptocurrencies. They also had exposure to UNI in a cryptocurrency index.