Bitcoin drops below $25,000 for the first time since late 2020

Bitcoin dropped to an 18-month low below $25,000 on Monday as investors turned away from riskier assets amid jitters in global markets.

As equity markets around the world plummeted as investors looked to the dollar as a safe haven, Geoffrey Haley, an analyst at Oanda, said that “the biggest drop in the crypto world is likely to happen.”

The best-known digital currency is down around 10% around 8:40 GMT to $24,580, more than 65% below bitcoin’s November 2021 high and its December 2020 low.

While the cryptocurrency market was worth more than $3 trillion at its peak seven months ago, it is approaching $1 trillion, according to Coingecko, which tracks more than 13,000 different cryptocurrencies.

In 2021, this nascent sector attracted a growing number of traditional financial investors, whose risk appetite was spurred by the ultra-loose policies of central banks around the world.

However, markets are burdened by the rising dollar interest rate, which the US Federal Reserve has decided to curb hyperinflation.

Furthermore, according to UBS analyst Mark Heffley, bitcoin’s decline accelerated “following withdrawals stalled by Celsius.”

This $12 billion company offers its customers the use of its “historic” cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether to invest in new cryptocurrencies.

In October, Celsius raised $400 million from a Quebec guarantee fund, which expressed satisfaction at partnering with “the world’s leading provider of cryptocurrency lending.”

The platform announced on Monday that “due to difficult market conditions, we are suspending all withdrawals and transfers between accounts.”

“The crypto space is down and is likely to get worse,” said Neil Wilson, an analyst at Markets.com.

In early May, cryptocurrency Terra, whose price was supposed to be pegged to the dollar, fell, causing fear among investors.