A Bitcoin ATM photographed at the Staten Island Ferry's Whitehall Terminal in New York. File photograph: Danny Ghitis/New York TimesBitcoin dropped below $19,000 for the first time since December 2020 as evidence of deepening stress within the crypto industry keeps piling up against a backdrop of monetary tightening.
The latest leg down pushed Bitcoin below $19,511, the high it reached during its last bull cycle in 2017. Throughout its roughly 12-year trading history, Bitcoin has never dropped below previous cycle peaks. Broader signs of stress emerged with last month’s collapse of the Terra blockchain, and worsened this week following crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd’s recent decision to halt withdrawals.
Stablecoins — a type of crypto asset pegged to the value of a fiat currency like the US dollar — have also struggled.
Ponzi-scheme