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Bitcoin Plummets to Below $40K

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by volume has dropped in a month nearly 40% from its all-time high.

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:57 p.m. Published May 19, 2021, 5:32 a.m.
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Bitcoin continued its month-long swoon Tuesday night, dropping below $40,000 for the first time since early February.

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  • The cryptocurrency was trading around $39,678 as of 05:29 UTC (1:29 a.m. ET) – a more than 12% drop over the previous 24 hours.
  • Bitcoin’s 24-hour price ranged from a low of $38,960 to a high of $45,850.
  • Bitcoin has fallen nearly 40% since its high of over $64,000 in February.
  • Other major cryptocurrencies continued to fall, too. Ether dipped below $3,000 for the first time since May 2, although it had regained this threshold as of 01:29 UTC.
  • Joe DiPasquale, the CEO and founder of BitBull, a cryptocurrency hedge fund, said bitcoin’s volatility this year is consistent with its history of “higher highs and higher lows.”
  • He called the “fall in price ... a natural consolidation period that we see as necessary for the support lines to form for future appreciation.”

Read more: Now’s the Time to Bet on Volatility in Bitcoin and Ether Markets: Options Experts

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KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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As bitcoin miners cut unprofitable production, Hash Ribbon metric points to BTC price rebound

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The hashrate shock from extreme weather in the U.S. revives a historically bullish onchain indicator.

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  • A 20% drop in Bitcoin hashrate has pushed the Hash Ribbon deeper into capitulation.
  • In the past, including the FTX collapse and mid-2024 yen carry trade unwind, that's signaled a strong price recovery once the hashrate reverts.