Bitcoin slumps below key $20k threshold

[graeme]

The whole space levered up. When Terra Luna and UST blew, it exposed holes in other companines’ balance sheets. These holes are slowly getting exposed and then a new company blows up, triggering ongoing liquidations

Leverage sent it up on the way up, now leverage knocks it down as it unwinds

If it gets so bad that Tether crumbles then expect an astonishing collapse. Tether’s money printing caused both recent crypto bubbles. They’re the crypto money printer

[alangibson]

You can bet there's a lot of crypto billionaires cum millionaires sweating 50 calibre bullets over the state of Tethers reserves.

[sparkie]

All these money creating schemes highlight the need for a kind of money which nobody can create. I wonder if anybody has come up with a solution to this yet?

[mudrockbestgirl]

I'll never understand these arbitrary numbers people come up with to write news articles. As if $20k is any more special than $20.313k. Liquidity isn't even concentrated at round numbers.

The only key threshold is zero. Like, you know, the thing Tether hopefully converges to.

[eqmvii]

This one is a little less arbitrary. The community put a lot of stock in the fact that while volatile, bitcoin had never crashed below a major previous peak.

As of this morning, that’s no longer true. Still “just” psychology, sure, but the collective impact of that psychology makes the market.

[wheresmycraisin]

Aside from psychology, a lot of people set triggers to sell if it drops below these round numbers. So once it "breaks a barrier" it's likely to go done further than if it breached $20.313k

[repomies69]

Reasons are journalistic. People need explanations and stories. The complexity that real world offers doesn't make a good story, but sounds just boring and doesn't collect clicks.

[dageshi]

The market is made up of a lot of human participants who do consider 20k to be an important number for a variety of reasons.

[ce4]

It's below the peak before the 2017/2018 crash happened?

[eqmvii]

Just unregulated fraud fantasy and hype. It’s been embarrassing to watch this “industry” for the last decade.

[sumedh]

People need an alternative to regulated fraud.

[Erikun]

Can’t read the article, what makes 20 000 a key threshold?

[yokem55]

It's roughly what the 2017 all time high was. The meme was that it wouldn't matter at what price you bought your BTC because if you just wait long enough you would eventually be green again. But, with dipping below 20K now, folks that bought at the peak in 2017 would be in the red again.

[mckirk]

Essentially: The mere symbolism of it. People ascribe a bit more meaning to such 'round' numbers, and since you are in a market with other people that do the same, it actually starts to make sense to see them as important markers at some point. (That's been my personal explanation for it, anyway.)

[gonzo41]

Emotion. BTC and others have the gold rush effect on people, so there is enough emotional energy in crypto to match the funds and electrical energy being poured into it. The ride up was an elation and the ride down will be something aswell.

[ulfw]

same as 420 for TSLA stock

[sockopen]

I invested a few thousand dollars just before they hit a dollar each. I hoped they would hit $10. It still amazes me they ever hit $100.

[gitfan86]

In the HBO show Silicon Valley there is a joke about how it is better to be pre-revenue because your valuation is tied to an idea, nothing real. Companies with revenue have P/E ratios, tying them to reality in some way. If Bitcoin is a "store of value" and also " a hedge against inflation" the price in USD could go up to infinity as the dollar goes down in value.

Obviously at this point neither of those things are true. It is basically just a poker game. The miners are the casinos taking their percentages and the players are all colluding by talking about how much fun the game is in hopes of getting more people to buy in to the game.

[JoeyBananas]

so basically you're rich beyond your wildest dreams now?

[avrionov]

We still don't know how big is the problem. Here is what happened this week:

- Celsius Network suspended withdrawals. The money in the accounts might be gone or they are going to get a significant haircut[1]

- Babel Finance suspended withdrawals.

- Three Arrows Capital is having troubles.

- Finblox limited the withdrawals

$40B - 50B are locked in this companies (or more likely gone).

[docdeek]

Is the $20K threshold 'key' in any way other than just being a nice round number?

[cardosof]

Bitcoin's value will move towards zero as more governments make it illegal, just so they can roll out their own central bank's crypto.

[alangibson]

Bitcoins best use case has always been in illegal trade. My guess is it'll retain some value due to use in the drug trades, etc

[jl6]

What does central bank crypto even mean?

[jliptzin]

Nothing stopping it from going to $1. Bitcoin is just as functional at $1 as it is at $50k.

[dotcoma]

Now what?

It’s still a lot of money for a bunch of useless 1s and 0s…

[Hellion]

While I’m not a fan of cryptocurrency… cash is just colored paper, why don’t you give it all to me :)

[newobj]

Burn baby burn