Share this article
Bitcoin Drops $1,000 In Value Amid Market Sell-Off
Bitcoin has once again come into contact with a greater crypto market sell-off, slashing its price by more than $1000.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 9:12 a.m. Published May 17, 2019, 4:14 a.m.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has once again come into contact with a greater crypto market sell-off slashing its price by more than $1,000.
On May. 17 at 2:00 UTC, bitcoin dropped by 16.7 percent to find a bid below $7,000 at $6,600 before rising once more on the back of high volatility, moving above $7,000 to where it currently sits at $7,300, according to CoinMarketCap and CoinDesk data.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In the last 24 hours, bitcoin’s market capitalization also dropped more than $10 billion over a 24-hour period. However, BTC remains positive over a 7-day period, up $14 billion on the week amid high volatility and market disagreements on its true price.
The reasons for the sell-off could be attributed to large sell-orders liquidating numerous stop-loss positions and invoking general panic amongst traders.
Indeed a sell-order on the Bitstamp exchange for example, of 3,645 BTC or $26.8 million in US dollar terms, was executed at around 02:00 UTC on May 17 and could have been one of the major causes for a dip below $7,000.
It’s no small secret that when bitcoin moves in value, the rest of the crypto markets may also do so as seen by a large capitulation in daily prices which are currently down between 11 and 22 percent amongst the top 100 at CoinMarketCap.
Ether , and all suffered similar losses losing between 8 and 16 percent in value while stellar (XLM), XRP and were the hardest hit in the top 10 by market capitalization, dropping 16.3, 16.5, 16.7 percent respectively.
The total crypto market capitalization also took a hit dropping more than $29 billion over the last 24-hours hinting at investor uncertainty as they transition to the sidelines to await bitcoin's next move.
Disclosure: The author holds USDT at the time of writing.
Bitcoin Image via Shutterstock
More For You
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.
More For You
Bitcoin pushes above $90,000 as traders eye change in pattern
Particularly hard-hit in 2025's final sessions, crypto-related stocks are bouncing in this year's first trading day.
What to know:
- Bitcoin rose above $90,000 during U.S. trading hours on Friday.
- It's a notable change in trend, as crypto prices late in 2025 were typically on the defensive while American stocks traded.
- Strategy, Coinbase, Hut 8 and Galaxy Digital were among the crypto-related stocks seeing strong gains.
Top Stories
