Astoundingly, the crypto market experienced a significant downfall on Thursday, causing over $1 billion in liquidations in barely 24 hours. A dramatic turn of events that is allegedly linked to a variety of factors, not least of which is Elon Musk‘s SpaceX company. It’s fascinating to see how interrelated yet turbulent our crypto universe is.
The sudden tumble saw Bitcoin stoop to nearly $25,300. This slump happened not long after the Wall Street Journal published a detailed account of SpaceX’s financials. The report revealed a “write down” in SpaceX’s Bitcoin value by $373 million during last year and 2021. Unavoidably, this sparks questions about the nature and timing of the reported Bitcoin sales corresponding with the declining market value.
Musk’s personal business dealings have always been shrouded in an air of mystery. He has often confirmed he owns Bitcoin, as does SpaceX, but the exact quantity remains undisclosed. In comparison, his public car company Tesla, stands on the more transparent end of the spectrum. It publicly announced a whopping $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase in February 2021, out of which most has now been sold with a worth of $184 million as per the latest earnings reports.
As the dominoes fall in this crypto narrative, interestingly, the news of Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings rumoured to be around $20,000, fairly didn’t cause much stir in Bitcoin’s trading graph. Astonishingly, Musk’s influence on Bitcoin prices became clear previously when he announced Tesla ceasing to accept Bitcoin as a car purchase payment mode. Consequently, Bitcoin’s price was negatively affected and was saw a 50% fall.
These crypto market fluctuations aren’t solely Musk or SpaceX specific. Some circles allege contributions by the Chinese property giant Evergrande to the recent crypto collapse. Evergrande filed for bankruptcy protection in a Manhattan court on Thursday, occurring concurrently with Binance and Coinbase’s legal battles with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Considering the chaotic market conditions, on-chain analysts at Glassnode had already anticipated a volatility surge earlier in the week. They observed that all those investors seeking to liquidate within the $29,000 to $30,000 price range had probably done so. Picturing this ongoing saga, one can’t help but wonder if we’re merely marionettes in a grand crypto puppet theatre. All ensuing performances remain a mystery.
Source: Cryptonews