Within a mere 10-minute timeframe, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed an approximate 8% decline, leading the cryptocurrency to plummet significantly below the $26,000 mark, only to regain some of its losses later.
On August 17, at 9:30 pm UTC, BTC was in the vicinity of $27,677 before undergoing a swift descent of slightly over 8% to settle at $25,409, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin’s price saw an even lower point on the Bitfinex crypto exchange, reaching a nadir of $24,715, only to subsequently rebound and climb above the $26,000 threshold.
Initial responses from the X (Twitter) community have linked this price decline to reports indicating that SpaceX devalued the BTC it had previously acquired by $373 million and subsequently sold off the cryptocurrency. Others have also pointed towards China’s Evergrande Group filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York as a potential contributing factor.
This drop has caused Bitcoin’s market capitalization to slip below $500 billion for the first instance since June 16, while also touching levels not observed since June 20.
Cryptocurrency expert Will Clemente highlighted that Bitcoin experienced its most substantial surge in BTC implied volatility in a single day this year.