The Last Time Bitcoin Fell 15% In 24 Hours

The crypto markets experienced a solid short-term bullish trend at the start of September, with Bitcoin shifting from $6k to almost $7400. Members of the crypto space were optimistic that the resistance level should be enough to push Bitcoin back above $8000. But the markets saw a change of direction and back to a bearish state, in less than 24 hours (and it could be not over yet).

Bitcoin, and even more severe – the altcoins, faced a downward run as their prices slumped in the last 24 hours. And no doubt, many have asked – Why.

Goldman Sachs’ Infamous Announcement

According to recent reports, Goldman Sachs, the famous Wall Street investment firm, has revealed that it is halting its plans for creating a Bitcoin trading desk for the foreseeable future.

Back in May, the bank showed interest in opening a crypto trading operation by the end of June, a move which would have made the Goldman Sachs the first Wall Street firm to enter the crypto markets. Naturally, the project would have attracted more institutional investors to the crypto space.

According to Goldman Sachs, it is backing off its plans due to the unregulated nature of the cryptocurrency industry coupled with other factors beyond the firm’s control.

However, the bank is not entirely giving up on cryptocurrencies. The investment firm has plans to create a crypto custody product which will allow it to safeguard the crypto investments of investors while keeping track of the price.

The mysterious short position and the 100M Tether

Just four days ago, on September 2nd, as the crypto markets look very good that nothing can stop them of reaching new highs. We’ve seen two mysterious incidents: A huge transfer of $100 Million worth of Tether to BitFinex, along with opening of a huge 10K BTC short position in less than 3 hours. This is a very rare occasion, and it’s even more mysterious since while opening the short positions the market didn’t really hurt and “observed” the shorts nicely. So who is behind the short position? Hmmm.

The mysterious rise in short positions from Sep.2. Bitcoin open shorts charts by TradingView.

A History of severe quick Bitcoin dumps

For Bitcoin, this is not the first time the crypto currency had dropped severely within a short time. Bitcoin has a decent history of quick price drops:

Just last March, on the 30th day of the month, Bitcoin lost a dramatic 15% of its value within 24 hours, and traded at $6,759.92, down from above $7900. “The mood in crypto is terrible right now,” said Bitcoin Bull, to calm down investors. The three primary reasons for the price decline in March were strict policies from regulators in both Japan and the US, news of Mx. Got selling off its bitcoin, and Binance hack rumor.

On December 15, 2017, the world’s largest cryptocurrency depreciated from about $20,000 to below $18,000. But, during that period, when BTC was on a decline, other top cryptos like ETH, BCH, and REP saw significant gains. It might be that investors sold Bitcoin fir altcoins.

In May 2017, bitcoin hit a record high of over $2700 which was followed by a sharp price correction, dropping of almost 30% of its value within 48 hours. The altcoins, including ETH, XRP, DASH, and LTC were not spared of the declined and slumped even deeper.

The volatility of Bitcoin increases as we go back in time: On January 2015, Bitcoin lost 37% of its value within two days. The top cryptocurrency dropped from $300 to $170 on Jan 14, another dramatic drop which led Barry Silbert to conclude that the market had “capitulated.” However, a 12-day price correction followed, pushing the price back to over $270 and ended the month over the $300 mark.

BTC Dominance Rises

Money is coming out from the crypto: BTC dominance increases above 55% while the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies slumped to $202 billion. At the time of writing, the BTC price is $6400 with a market cap of $111 billion. ETH trades below $230, BCH is at the $500.