Leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin crashed 8% on August 17 with the price falling below $26k for the first time since June. The sharp decline in the price over a short period has sent speculations and FUD across the crypto space.
In a recent development, the most popular cryptocurrency in the world reportedly lost 8% of its value due to unverified news posted on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday by Bitcoin Magazine.
In the post, Bitcoin Magazine claimed that SpaceX – an Elon Musk-owned space exploration company, sold all its Bitcoin holdings which amounted to about $373 million. Bitcoin Magazine pointed to Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as the source of the news.
BREAKING: Elon Musk’s SpaceX sold all its $373 million #bitcoin – WSJ
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— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) August 17, 2023
The news spread like wildfire and has garnered over 2.7 million views and has been attributed to the main reason behind the price plummet. Following the announcement, the crypto community flooded the comment section with reactions.
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Subsequently, clarifications and investigations carried out have raised doubts about the authenticity of the news. It was confirmed via a response that WSJ reported that SpaceX “wrote down the value of Bitcoin it owns last year” as opposed to how Bitcoin Magazine reported the news.
Congratulations Bitcoin Magazine, you crashed the market with FUD and lost your credibility. Nice. pic.twitter.com/7VA2H03IRG
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) August 18, 2023
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However, it was a little too late as the Bitcoin Magazine report already sent a shock wave across the crypto market which resulted in a massive sell-out that led to the price of the digital asset crash.
As usual, once the price of Bitcoin is affected, the whole market reacts. Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency in the market also lost about 6% of its value since the news broke out.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, the crypto fear and greed index currently shows “37” which indicates fear in the crypto market. This simply means an undervaluation of crypto assets.
Possible factors for the price decline
Even though the false news spread by Bitcoin Magazine could be attributed as the main reason for the market crash, other sentiments prove otherwise. In fact, a user on X commented on the post by Bitcoin Magazine stressing that the news of SpaceX selling Bitcoin only came after the crash therefore, it was not the catalyst.
He claimed that even if SpaceX had sole Bitcoin, it wasn’t at the time of the report, rather it was based on past events. He went on to add that the reason for the drop was a result of “China economic news & U.S. Stock Markets bearish pressure on risk assets.”
Another factor that could have been the reason is the buildup of short positions in the futures market since the middle of July as reported by CryptoQuant.com. This period is known for low Bitcoin demand in the United States.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is currently selling at $26,454 according to a live update from CoinMarketCap. The price is down 7.39% in the last 24 hours. What’s more, Bitcoin currently has a live market cap of $514,404,951,145 ($514 billion) and maintains its #1 position on the cryptocurrency chart.
Bitcoin price CoinMarketCap
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Victor Swaezy
Victor Nnamdi Igbor "Swaezy" is a crypto enthusiast and writer with over 8 experience in blogging. He is an easy person and when not working, loves to have a good time.