Bitcoin (BTC) price has fallen over 5% from $23,500 to $22,240 in just over 60 minutes amid a wave of uncertainty surrounding crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital.
The price drop has wiped out $22 billion of 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) among other non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies have also suffered similar sharp declines.
While the exact cause behind the $1,200 precipitous price drop is not clear, the drop coincides with the recent Silvergate Bank controversy and the delayed filing of its annual 10-K financial report.
Markus Thielen, head of research at digital asset platform Matrixport, told Cointelegraph that the $1,200 price drop is related to Silvergate Bank’s recent controversy over its delayed annual filing of 10K financial reports, in addition to increased efforts of US regulators trying to curb ties between banks and crypto firms:
The drop is due to the continued impact of Silvergate Bank as there is now more uncertainty about fiat ups and downs. Additionally, there are now broader industry concerns that US regulators are attempting to sever further banking ties between crypto firms and FDIC-insured banks. Still, this plays into the hands of Hong Kong and China, which are becoming more crypto-friendly.”
“We’ve seen an increase in stablecoin activity as a sign that crypto firms are using crypto rails to move money,” he added.
Several technical analysts on Twitter claimed to have predicted the drop from $23K resistance, however, the reasons behind the drop are not clear.
Bitcoin price chart. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro
The last time BTC was priced at $22,250 was on February 15th.
The sharp drop comes despite a surge earlier in 2023, with BTC still up 34.8% since it was priced at $16,550 on Jan. 1.