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Bitcoin Plunges Below $20K for First Time Since December 2020; Ether Drops Below $1K
The continuing plunge in traditional financial markets and panic about crypto lending platforms sent Bitcoin into the teens for the first time in more than 18 months.
Updated May 11, 2023, 5:29 p.m. Published Jun 18, 2022, 9:06 a.m.
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Bitcoin (BTC) sank below $20,000 for the first time since December 2020, losing 9.5% in the past 24 hours. At time of publication, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap was changing hands around $18,984.1 after trading at a low of $18,739.50.
Ether (ETH), the second-largest crypto, also continued its decline, falling 9.78% to about $992 at time of publication.
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The crypto panic – which began a few weeks ago with the Terra ecosystem collapse and then spread to the Celsius platform – has moved on to hedge fund Three Arrow Capital, which reportedly had its collateral liquidated by crypto lender BlockFi.
Checking traditional markets, U.S. stocks saw more massive selling on Thursday, with the Nasdaq tumbling 4.1% and the S&P 500 3.25% before a slight recovery on Friday. For the week, the Nasdaq and S&P are each lower by about 6%.
Amitoj Singh contributed to this report.
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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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Silver nears $1 billion in volume on Hyperliquid as bitcoin remains frozen: Asia Morning Briefing
Silver perps have more volume on Hyperliquid than SOL or XRP.
What to know:
- Silver futures on the Hyperliquid crypto derivatives exchange have surged to become one of its most active markets, ranking just behind bitcoin and ether in trading volume.
- The SILVER-USDC contract’s high volume, sizable open interest and slightly negative funding suggest traders are using crypto infrastructure for volatility and hedging in macro commodities rather than for directional crypto bets.
- Bitcoin is holding near $88,000 in a "defensive equilibrium" with cooling ETF inflows, uneven derivatives positioning and rising demand for downside protection, while ether lags and capital rotates toward hard assets like gold and silver.
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