Crypto update: Bitcoin's unrelenting selloff puts prices on verge of $20k

business-standard.com:

Bitcoin tumbled again, driving the token to the brink of $20,000 as evidence of deepening stress within the crypto industry kept piling up.

There’s a growing sense of anxiety about the stability of crypto projects large and small. Tron founder Justin Sun’s roughly month-old stablecoin USDD drifted from its intended dollar peg, at one point dipping below 96 cents, data from CoinGecko show. A tweet from the co-founder of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital fueled speculation that it had suffered large losses.

Bitcoin fell as much as 8.6% on Wednesday $20,081.95. The largest token has fallen for nine straight days, the longest losing streak since 2014. Ether was on the cusp of breaking the $1,000 mark after a 10% plunge.

A market that started sliding late last year on expectations of tighter monetary policy is now showing signs of widespread panic, after last month’s collapse of the Terra blockchain and the recent decision by crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd. to halt withdrawals. Even long-term holders who have avoided selling until now are coming under pressure, according to researcher Glassnode.

“What we’re seeing now are the weak hands exiting the market as we wash out the excess of what in retrospect can only be seen as an overextended build up of speculation and leverage,” said Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics.

Historical data show that Bitcoin may find key support around the $20,000 level, as previous selloffs demonstrate where the token usually finds points of resilience, according to Mike McGlone, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.

Prices may “build a base around $20,000 as it did at about $5,000 in 2018-19 and $300 in 2014-15,” he said in a note Wednesday. “Declining volatility and rising