In the early hours of Sunday morning, Bitcoin fell to a low of $52,144, a sharp drop from the high of $61,271 yesterday.
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Bitcoin took the rest of the crypto market down with it. Ethereum sank 11.45%, hitting a nadir of $1,978, its lowest price since April 7. By Sunday afternoon it had rebounded to $2,174.
The crash also caused delays on crypto exchanges. From 5AM through 6:30 AM UTC, Binance reported issues with placing orders. Binance has since resolved the problems.
We are aware of some temporary difficulties with order placement on https://t.co/KiZP5RBX6P.
Please be assured our team is doing everything we can to resolve the issue. Thank you for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Unconfirmed rumors on Twitter late Saturday night about impending charges from the U.S. government over crypto money laundering appear to have been the initial trigger.
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Darius Sit, co-founder of Singaporean crypto trading firm QCP Capital, told Decrypt he sees that as the cause.
US TREASURY TO CHARGE SEVERAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR MONEY LAUNDERING USING CRYPTOS - SECURITIES LAWYERS FAMILIAR WITH THE YELLEN TASK FORCE PLAN SAID
One account cited the source as securities lawyers familiar with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s task force. The accounts provided no further evidence.
Separately, Bitcoin’s hash rate suddenly sank by 30% earlier this week.
Dovey Wan, founding partner of crypto V.C. firm Primitive Ventures, attributes the plunge to a power outage in China’s Xinjiang province, the region that houses China’s largest Bitcoin mining operations. Authorities cut the power following accidents in three coal mines in the province.
Xinjiang is facing a major power outage due to a coal mine explosion