Bitcoin-Ethereum Plummets Up to 80% from Peak

As the global stock market plunged amid fears of austerity from the US, Bitcoin, a representative virtual asset, also fell for the 12th day in a row, continuing a bottomless decline. Bitcoin, the No. 1 market capitalization of virtual assets, and Ethereum, the 2nd largest, fell below $20,000 and $1,000, respectively, in a year and a half, plunging more than 70% from their highs. Bloomberg News reported on the 18th (local time) that “Bitcoin has collapsed on record.” There is also growing concern that the virtual asset ecosystem will reach a level of collapse as uncertainty in the global economy is expected to increase for the time being.

According to CoinMarketCap, a virtual asset information site on the 19th, as of 3pm, Bitcoin was trading at $18,132, down 11.20% from 24 hours ago. At one point during the day, it fell to $17,708 and broke the $18,000 level. It is the first time since November 2020 that Bitcoin has fallen below $18,000. The high of $19,511 in the 2017 bull market, which experts saw as a ‘major turning point’ for the price decline, also collapsed without a hitch. This is the first time in its nearly 12-year trading history that it has fallen below the peak of a previous bull market.

The price of Bitcoin, which soared to $68,790 in November last year, fell to $40,000 at the end of April this year amid the US interest rate hike atmosphere. Since then, the $30,000 line has collapsed due to the Luna/Tera crash, and the US recently took the ‘giant step’ to raise the key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points, giving up even the $20,000 level. This is the result of the combination of fears of austerity and concerns about bankruptcy of coin derivatives companies.

Altcoins, excluding Bitcoin, also plummeted one after another. Ethereum once plunged to $896 on the same day, plunging 81% from the high of $4812 in November last year. Major coins such as Binance Coin, Ripple, and Cardano also plunged nearly 10% on the day.

There is also a forecast that the decline of the coin market could be steeper as the ‘Bitcoin $20,000 line’, which was considered the psychological margin of the virtual asset market, is broken. This is because investors who have grown risk-averse in the face of interest rate hikes can be the first to sell virtual assets, which are considered high-risk assets.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) analyzed on the 18th (local time) with the title “The Virtual Asset Feast is Over” and analyzed that “The virtual asset industry was fed by the show-offs, enthusiasm and optimism of its supporters, but now its power is waning.” Bloomberg News reported, “If the ‘fear of missing out’ phenomenon, which is fear of becoming a beggar while standing still, has dominated the virtual asset investment environment for the past two years, now ‘virtual asset itself has become a fear itself’. ” reported.

There are also predictions that Bitcoin could plunge below $10,000. “Bitcoin could fall below $10,000 this year,” said Jay Hatfield, chief investment officer at U.S. Infrastructure Capital.

The bitcoin mining industry was also hit. Singapore-based Bitcoin mining platform ‘Bit Deere’ announced on Twitter on the 17th that some miners could not afford electricity costs amid falling coin prices and would be shut down, and told the industry “Stop mining to prevent losses.” warned