Why did the Bitcoin price suddenly plummet to $ 38,000, blowing away $ 280 billion in market capitalization in just a few hours?

Accordingly, on the morning of May 19, 2021 (Vietnam time), the price of Bitcoin (BTC) – the world’s largest cryptocurrency suddenly plummeted from the $43598 mark to $38600, according to data from Cointelegraph. The world’s largest exchange Binance. The price of Bitcoin is currently hovering around $39,000, representing a 12.9% drop from 24 hours ago, according to CoinDesk.

This sharp drop dragged the total cryptocurrency market capitalization from 2072 billion, to 1796 billion dollars, blowing away 276 billion dollars in just a few hours. The plunge in the price of Bitcoin also led to a decrease in the price of a series of other cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BNB, Dogecoin ..vv.

Notably, this is Bitcoin’s third consecutive sharp drop in just a few days. Before that, the price of Bitcoin immediately plummeted from a peak price of about 59,000 USD. This drop came when Tesla announced it was stopping accepting payments in Bitcoin due to concerns that the mining process of this cryptocurrency would have an impact on the environment. Following that, rumors about Tesla selling off the Bitcoin it owns made the price of Bitcoin ‘lower and lower’.

The price of Bitcoin is currently hovering around $39,000, as of 12:30 p.m. on May 19

According to many experts, Bitcoin’s latest plunge took place after Reuters news agency published an article referring to the announcement of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which affirmed its stance of not accepting the form of Bitcoin. electronic payment. The statement was also posted on government CCTV channels and on the PBOC’s official WeChat page.

However, many crypto experts have criticized the Reuters article, accusing the news agency of “false” reporting. According to Thestreet, the Reuters report may mislead the public as the Chinese government has just introduced a new ban on cryptocurrencies. In fact, the PBOC just reiterated the regulations that the country has long applied to warn about the risks when trading and investing in cryptocurrencies.

Yu Lingqu, deputy director at the China Development Research Institute in Shenzhen, said that the PBOC’s latest statement does not come with any new regulatory measures for cryptocurrencies.

Liu Yang, a lawyer at Beijing-based law firm DeHeng Law Office, confirmed that the notice, although posted by the PBOC, was compiled by industry associations, rather than government officials. Chinese government.

“They just want to be cautious,” Bobby Lee, founder and CEO of electronic wallet provider Ballet, commented on the PBOC’s latest move. “They feel the market is being overblown, with more and more speculative transactions appearing. They’re looking for the best interests of everyone.”

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