The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is down more than 5% from $23,500 to $22,240 in just over 60 minutes amid a wave of uncertainty over crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital.
The price drop has wiped $22 billion from Bitcoin’s total market cap, which now stands at $430.9 billion, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.
Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC) and other non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies have also experienced a similar sharp decline.
Markus Thielen, head of research at digital asset platform Matrixport, told Cointelegraph he believes the price drop is related to the recent controversy at Silvergate Bank with the delayed annual filing of 10,000 financial reports, in addition to an increased effort by US regulators trying to limit the limit ties between banks and crypto companies:
The drop is due to the ongoing fallout from the Silvergate bank as there is now more uncertainty about the entry and exit of fiat. In addition, there are now broader industry concerns that US regulators are seeking to cut further banking relationships between crypto firms and FDIC-insured banks.
“Nevertheless, this plays into the hands of Hong Kong and China, which are becoming increasingly crypto-friendly.”
“We have seen an increase in stablecoin activity as a sign that crypto companies are using crypto rails to move money,” he added.
Several technical analysts on Twitter claimed to have predicted the drop from the $23,000 resistance.
The last time BTC cost $22,250 was on February 15.
The sharp drop comes despite a surge in early 2023, with BTC still up 34.8% since the price hit $16,550 on Jan. 1.
Ether (ETH) is also down 4.74% from $1644 to $1566, wiping out its market cap at $9 billion in the first hour.
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