Why is the crypto market down today? BTC briefly slips below $27k

Key takeaways

• The cryptocurrency market is down by roughly 1% over the past 24 hours.

• Bitcoin briefly dropped to $26,990 earlier today before recovering to now trade above $27,500.

• The dump came due to reports that there was a transaction with the United States government’s BTC wallet.

Why the crypto market is down today

The cryptocurrency market recorded a sharp spike in movement a few hours ago. Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading just above $28k earlier today.

However, BTC fell below the $27k level for the first time in more than a week, briefly touching the $26,990 mark before retracing its movement.

According to market experts, the sharp decline in Bitcoin’s price came as a result of a transaction from the United States government’s BTC wallet. 

BREAKING: US Gov BTC Wallet is moving#Bitcoin dumps hard. Lot of longs rekt. pic.twitter.com/kyw8QIhAnR

— Woetoe (@cryptowoetoe) May 10, 2023

Data obtained from Blockstreamshowed that 9819.01814463 bitcoins were on the move from the wallet. This large transaction was reflected in the market, with Bitcoin dropping below the $27k mark for the first time in a month. 

Bitcoin recovers to trade above $27,500

The dump didn’t last long, as Bitcoin is now trading above the $27k level once again. At press time, the price of Bitcoinstands at $27,502, down by more than 2% in the last hour.

Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that recorded losses. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, also dropped below the $1,800 mark earlier today before retracing to now trade at $18,36 per coin.