Bitcoin Slumps Heavily Today; Coin Currently Below $19,000

Bitcoin price continued to plunge and declined below the $19,000 level. The world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency was trading more than 5% lower at $18,644. The global crypto market cap today fell below the $1 trillion mark, as it was down over 5% in the last 24 hours at $986 billion, as per CoinGecko.

Bitcoin And Ethereum Plunges Without Warning?

“Bitcoin plunged below the $19,000 level as investors are moving away from riskier assets. This is the weakest level BTC has seen since July 13th. If the selling pressure continues this way, the next level could be US$17,500. The second largest crypto, Ethereum surged early Tuesday but fell by nearly 7% in the past 24 hours. 

One of the reasons for the downward trend could be because of the long US Labor Day holiday weekend, ” said Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder, Mudrex.

On the other hand, Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain and the second largest cryptocurrency, tumbled nearly 8% to $1,502. Ethereum is transitioning to proof-of-stake for its consensus protocol. The latest upgrade to the Ethereum network, known as Bellatrix, was activated on September 6, 2022. 

It officially kicks off the blockchain’s transition, known as the Merge, from proof of work to proof of stake. The proof-of-work mechanism requires powerful computers, called the miners, to secure the network and earn rewards in Ether.

Bitcoin Isn’t Alone

The Merge has been on Ethereum’s roadmap since the blockchain’s inception in 2015. Despite multiple delays in the past several years, crypto investors are betting on the Merge finally happening this year based on developers’ updates and a few successful test runs earlier this year.

Meanwhile, dogecoin price today was trading over 8% lower at $0.05 whereas Shiba Inu fell plunged about 5% to $0.000012. 

Ethereum was quoted at US$ 1,565.05, up by 0.29%. Yesterday, Ether closed at US$ 1,560.58. Litecoin was quoted at US$ 55.75, up by 2.99%, Dogecoin was quoted at US$ 0.0601 up by 2.14%, and Cardano was quoted at US$ 0.4682 up by 1.31% today, till last traded.

Late Hours Of Today Saw Marginal Revival 

The cryptocurrency market revives only marginally today, after falling sharply yesterday. The US Dollar index hit a fresh 52-week high recently, pulling the crypto market and commodity markets down internationally. Today, on September 7, at 5.44 pm UTC, Bitcoin gained by 0.94% intra day, and was at US$ 18,991.70. 

Yesterday, Bitcoin closed at US$ 18,815.30, falling significantly. According to ISM (Institute of Supply Management) data, the US services sector grew at 56.9%, faster than expected in August. This better-than-anticipated data recently aided the US Dollar index to hit a fresh 52-week high, and reach 110.79, today.

Bitcoin started off the post-Labor Day week by trading down 4.5% on moderate trading volume. The largest cryptocurrency sank below $19,000, falling more sharply late in the afternoon New York time. Ether, by comparison, was 2% lower on greater-than-average volume, as Ethereum moves closer to its conversion to a faster, more energy-efficient proof-of-stake protocol. 

Monday’s successful activation of the Bellatrix upgrade is one of the final steps before completion of the Merge, a software update that will launch between Sept 13-15,” according to CoinDesk report

The US stock markets also revived later today, after falling yesterday. S&P 500 gained by 1.51%, stood at 3,967.36, and Nasdaq Composite surged by 1.61%, stood at 11,730.52, at the time of writing.