BTC’s Rollercoaster Around $20K Continues as USDC Drops to $0.9: Weekend Watch

Bitcoin’s woes keep on coming as the asset plummeted to a new two-month low at $19,500 yesterday before bouncing off by over a grand.

This comes amid the Silicon Valley Bank’s troubles and the apparent exposure of certain crypto firms, including Circle and its stablecoin, which lost its dollar parity.

BTC Volatile Around $20K

In a matter of almost a week, bitcoin had calmed at around $22,000 and failed to produce any significant moves in either direction. Yet, the asset is known for its volatile nature, and such occasions are quite rare. In fact, they are usually followed by enhanced fluctuations.

This is precisely what happened on Thursday when the cryptocurrency plummeted by almost $2,000. While the reasons are still debated, BTC kept on plunging and fell all the way down to $19,550 (on Bistamp) to register its lowest price point in two months.

Bitcoin reacted well to this massive price drop. It shot up above $20,000 almost immediately and headed toward $21,000. However, the bears came back to play at this point and reversed its trajectory. As of now, the asset stands inches above the coveted $20,000 line.

Its market cap is still below $400 billion, while its dominance over the alts has increased slightly to 42%.

USDC Losses its Peg

It’s rare to talk about stablecoins during a market watch, but the landscape is different today. As news came out that Circle holds around $3.3 billion of its USDC reserves in the struggling bank SVB, the second-largest stablecoin began losing its dollar parity. It dropped to $0.93 almost instantly and fell even further to $0.9 as of writing these lines. Its market capitalization has declined by over $5 billion in a day as investors turn to other stablecoins.

The altcoins, which are supposed to be a lot more volatile than stablecoins, are in slightly better shape today. ETH has reclaimed $1,400 after a 2.3% increase. BNB is close to $275. ADA, DOGE, DOT, SHIB, and AVAX are with more gains as well.

Moreover, MATIC and SOL have soared by between 5% and 6% in a day to above $1 and $17.5, respectively.

The total crypto market cap has added around $10 billion since yesterday, but it’s still miles below $1 trillion.