The price of Bitcoin experienced a sharp and sudden decline, dropping by approximately 8% within a mere 10-minute timeframe on August 17. This rapid decrease pushed Bitcoin’s value to levels not observed since June 20.
BTC’s value was hovering around $27,677 on August 17 at 9:30 pm UTC before plummeting to $25,409, marking an 8% decrease. Coinmarketcap reported these figures, while the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex recorded an even lower point of $24,715 before a partial recovery back above the $26,000 mark.
Initial reactions from the Twitter community have cited possible reasons for this price drop, including reports that SpaceX wrote down the value of its previously acquired BTC by $373 million and proceeded to sell the cryptocurrency. Others have attributed the decline to China’s Evergrande Group filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York.
This sudden fall has brought Bitcoin’s market capitalization below $500 billion for the first time since June 16, and it reached its lowest point since June 20.
Bitcoin analyst Will Clemente highlighted that this event led to the largest single-day increase in BTC implied volatility this year. As the market grapples with these rapid changes, investors and analysts are closely monitoring Bitcoin’s trajectory and potential factors influencing its price movements.