Crypto Market Stumbles, Pushes Bitcoin Lower Than $22,000

Bitcoin on Friday fell to its lowest level in more than three weeks, dipping below $22,000 amid a sudden crypto sell-off in early European trading, Jenni Reid reported for CNBC on Aug. 21, 2022.

Photo Insert: It appeared Cardano made the first plunge downwards, followed by Bitcoin and Ether and then smaller coins like Dogecoin.

Bitcoin plunged from $22,738 to below $21,12.34 at 4 p.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data. Earlier in the morning, the cryptocurrency fluctuated between $21,500 and $22,000.

It comes shortly after the world’s largest digital coin surpassed the $25,000 level for the first time since June following a rise in US stocks. Ether fell from $1,808 to $1,728 at the same time before staging a muted rebound. It had slipped again, falling further to $1,683.90 by 4 p.m. ET.

A specific cause for a drop at that time, which also sent Binance Coin, Cardano and Solana falling, was not immediately clear. “It’s not showing the pattern of a flash crash, as the assets didn’t immediately rebound sharply but sank even lower in the hours that followed,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“It seems likely that it was as a result of a large sale transaction, in the absence of other more external factors.”

Streeter said it appeared Cardano made the first plunge downwards, followed by Bitcoin and Ether and then smaller coins like Dogecoin.

“This fresh chill has descended amid fears that the market is heading for a crypto winter,” she added. “Although at $21,800 Bitcoin is still some way off its June lows of under $19,000, volatility is once again wracking the market.”

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