The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped more than 5% from $23,500 to $22,240 in just 60 minutes, amid a wave of uncertainty about crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital.
The price drop has wiped $22 billion from Bitcoin’s total market capitalization, which currently stands at $430.9 billion, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.
Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA) and Polygon (MATIC), and other non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies also experienced similar declines.
Bitcoin just dropped $1200 in less than 30 minutes.
— Wolf All the Way (@scottmelker) March 3, 2023
While the cause of the steep $1,200 price drop is unclear, the fall coincided with recent controversy surrounding Silvergate Bank and the delay in its annual 10-K financial report.
Some technical analysts on Twitter claim to have predicted a fall from the $23,000 resistance, but the reasons behind the downward push are unclear.
The last time BTC was priced at $22,250 was February 15th.
A clear decline has occurred even since the beginning of 2023, with BTC still up 34.8% from its price of $16,550 on January 1.