Related: Is it Time to Buy the Dip?
Bitcoin is teetering on the precipice of an abyss, according to some crypto market analysts, with its price hitting its lowest level since July 2021.
The cryptocurrency has lost more than 50 per cent of its value over the last six months amid a market-wide downturn that has wiped more than $1.5 trillion from the overall crypto market.
Since first rising above this price at the start of 2021, BTC has never fallen below it for any significant amount of time, meaning it will be in unchartered territory if the sell-off continues.
There is widespread fear in the market on Thursday, after the Terra (LUNA) cryptocurrency fell by more than 99 per cent, dropping below $1 on Wednesday having peaked close to $120 last month.
The crash has pushed another stablecoin, Tether, below its dollar peg hitting as a low of 95 cents.
You can follow all the latest news, analysis and expert price predictions for bitcoin, as well as other leading cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA), right here.
Bitcoin, altcoins gain after crash
After hitting a low close to $25,000 on Thursday – Bitcoin’s lowest level since late December 2020 – the leading cryptocurrency has surged by about 8 per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently priced at over $30,000.
However, it is still down by about 17 per cent compared to its value a week earlier.
Meanwhile, ethereum has grown by over 6 per cent in the last day. But it is still down by 24 per cent compared to last week.
In the last 24 hours, cardano has surged by over 20 per cent while solana and dogecoin have grown by over 10 to 15 per cent.
The global crypto market has grown by about 6 per cent in the last 24 hours and is valued at $1.3 trillion, which is still nearly less than half of its value last November.
Prices of top cryptocurrencies in last 24 hours
(CoinMarketCap)
Vishwam Sankaran13 May 2022 05:17
How bad is Bitcoin mining for the environment really?
ICYMI: In little over a decade, Bitcoin has risen from a fringe technology popular with cryptographers, to the world’s ninth most valuable asset by market cap.
The cryptocurrency’s dramatic ascent has created millionaires, reimagined money and launched a multi-billion dollar industry inspired by its revolutionary decentralised technology.
But it has also brought with it some unwanted side effects, writes Anthony Cuthbertson.
Graeme Massie13 May 2022 05:07
‘I lost my life savings’: Terra Luna cryptocurrency collapses 98% overnight
ICYMI: The price of the Terra (LUNA) cryptocurrency has fallen by more than 99 per cent, wiping out the fortunes of crypto investors, writes Anthony Cuthbertson.
Terra, which ranked among the top 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies, dropped below $1 on Wednesday, having peaked close to $120 last month.
The majority of the losses were realised overnight, with a 98 per cent price fall in the space of just 24 hours.
Graeme Massie13 May 2022 04:05
ICYMI: “Cryptocurrency has always seemed to me like one of those financial manias that sometimes grip the world – like Wall Street in the 1920s, or the dot com boom that collapsed in 2000”, writes Independent columnist Sean O’Grady.
“If cryptocurrencies collapse and fail, this is because the collective of people who use them and create them have failed to find a way of making them stable and reliable, ie useful, besides being a vehicle for speculation. Then again, usefulness probably isn’t the point of cryptocurrencies. Their point is that they have no point. I hope that helps”.
Graeme Massie13 May 2022 03:15
Stablecoins: What are Terra and Tether, and how did they help cause new crypto meltdown?
ICYMI: So-called stablecoins have led the cryptocurrency market to melt down in a moment of significant instability.
The cryptocurrencies are intended to be a particularly reliable way of investing in digital money, and are marketed as being a way around the significant volatility in other, better known names such as bitcoin.
Andrew Griffin has the details.
Graeme Massie13 May 2022 02:10
Terraform labs halts activity on Terra blockchain
ICYMI: Terraform Labs says it has halted activity on its Terra blockchain after its TerraUSD and Luna tokens collapsed, according to Bloomberg.
“The Terra blockchain was officially halted at a block height of 7603700,” Terraform Labs tweeted on Thursday.
“Terra validators have decided to halt the Terra chain to prevent governance attacks following severe $LUNA inflation and a significantly reduced cost of attack.”
Luna fell in value to almost zero cents, while TerraUSD, which is also known as UST, fell to around 36 cents.
Graeme Massie13 May 2022 01:05
Chelsea launch crypto partnership – as market collapses
ICYMI: Chelsea Football Club have announced a new sponsorship agreement with the owners of digital asset platform WhaleFin. The Premier League side will display the logo of the exchange on the sleeves of both men’s and women’s shirts from next season.
Chelsea say their partnership with Amber Group will see them “collaborate on a range of partnership activities which will focus on growing the WhaleFin brand globally”, while highlighting WhaleFin as “an all-in-one platform that serves as a gateway to crypto finance”.
Graeme Massie12 May 2022 18:01
One user said the millions they had invested in the Luna cryptocurrency were now worthless.
“My 2.8 million dollars is literally worth $1000”, they tweeted, adding “Man bought the dip and lost:
Adam Smith12 May 2022 17:30
“The extreme volatility that we’ve witnessed across the cryptocurrency market over the past 24 hours is demonstrable of just how nascent the technology is. The capitulation of Terra Luna and the issues that we see with Terra’s dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin UST are part of the growing pains of a space where innovation charts a course at a frenetic pace”, Bitfinex Market Analysts told The Independent.
The real story of the day is the relatively strong performance of the three leading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether tokens (USDt). The trinity stands strong, demonstrating the strength and resilience of a digital token ecosystem that will define this entire decade.”
Adam Smith12 May 2022 17:15
Binance has announced warning measures against the Luna cryptocurrency.
“Due to the existing tick-size constraints of the LUNAUSDT perpetual contracts, Binance Futures will take the following precautionary measures”, the company wrote in a blog post.
“Should the price of the LUNAUSDT contracts go below 0.005 USDT, Binance shall proceed to delist the contracts. Any further information including the delisting time will be announced accordingly.”
Adam Smith12 May 2022 16:48
