Hello and welcome to this week's edition of Overbit Insights.
These last few weeks have certainly been a departure from the bullish, borderline-parabolic price action we have been accustomed to over the past several months. Although Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most of the major cryptocurrencies continue to sit multiples above their all-time highs, sellers have seemingly taken control over the past week or two.
On Friday, 23 April, the selling accelerated for the crypto market and Bitcoin in particular, where BTCUSD broke its swing low at $51,300 and crashed to $47,500. This put Bitcoin over the 25% drawdown mark from its local high at $64,000, sending the rest of the market into a downward spiral.
Ethereum and other altcoins may have held up decently before this move, but the crash on Friday sent everything down 10% or more going into the weekend, shaving off more than $200 billion from the total market cap. With all the leverage that's available to traders in today's crypto markets, this giant volatility swing sent liquidations skyrocketing as well, totalling well over $1 billion.
Once again, the cryptocurrency market is in the position of being square in the spotlight whilst exhibiting one of its defining traits: volatility.
There are bound to be a ton of negative headlines that come out of such a big, downward move, but it's important to remember that crypto markets have always made two things: significant actions downward and large moves upward.
As we move through our final story of the week, Turkey's cryptocurrency investors were dealt another blow at the end of a bad week when a second major exchange crashed in as many days, and its chief executive was reportedly arrested.
Vebitcoin has ceased operations, citing worsening financial conditions, and Demiroren News Agency has confirmed that its CEO, Ilker Bas, and three other employees have been detained. The Financial Crimes Investigation Board has frozen Vebitcoin's accounts and launched an investigation.
According to CoinGecko.com, which monitors data on price, volume, and market value on crypto markets, Vebitcoin is Turkey's fourth-largest exchange, with close to $60 million in regular volumes. According to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Thodex had approximately 390,000 users, and damages could total up to $2 billion, according to Turkey's Haberturk newspaper.
The two exchanges were part of the cryptocurrency boom, which has attracted legions of Turks looking to shield their savings from rampant inflation and an unstable currency. According to CoinGecko.com, the amount of trade in Turkish crypto markets was close to $2 billion on Friday. The boom has piqued the interest of regulators, as Turkey's Central Bank has prohibited payment institutions from facilitating money transfers to cryptocurrency platforms as of 30 April. The country has prohibited payment and electronic money institutions from facilitating money transfers to cryptocurrency platforms.
As new crypto regulations continue to play out, Overbit.com is here to support. Thanks for reading this week's edition of Overbit insights, and we'll see you next week.