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 Blockstream showed 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 Bitcoin stands 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.