Bitcoin on Friday plummeted to its lowest level in more than three weeks, slipping below $22,000 amid an unexpected crypto sell-off in early European trading.
Bitcoin dipped from $22,738 to below $21,453.59 at 12:17 p.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data. Earlier in the morning, the digital coin fluctuated between $21,500 and $22,000.
The price plunge came shortly after the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap blasted above the $25,000 level for the first time since June following a rise in U.S. stocks.
Ether was down to $1,72 8from $1,808 before leading a rebound. It had dropped again, falling further to $1,697.90 by 12:17 p.m. ET.
The sudden drop in price which also affected Binance Coin, Solana, and Cardano was not clear.
“It’s not showing the pattern of a flash crash, as the assets didn’t immediately rebound sharply but sank even lower in the hours that followed,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “It seems likely that is was as a result of a large sale transaction, in the absence of other more external factors.”