Bitcoin Plummets to Below $40K

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

May 19, 2021 at 5:32 a.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:57 p.m. UTC

btc price 19 May — 24-hour bitcoin price chart on May 19, 2021.

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its month-long swoon Tuesday night, dropping below $40,000 for the first time since early February.

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 (ETH) 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 about

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.