As Binance customers report technical difficulties, Bitcoin quickly breaks through the $30,000 support level.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin (BTC) went below $30,000 for the first time, as the largest cryptocurrency fell below a significant “line in the sand.”
Bitcoin’s price has risen from its low in May
BTC/USD smashed through $30,000 support, losing 6% in an hour and hitting its lowest levels since late January, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Bitcoin has suffered repeated fast bursts of negative volatility in recent days, culminating in Tuesday’s $30,000 breach, after plunging from $41,000 a week ago.
Traders were expecting the breakdown, according to Cointelegraph, and others were already predicting $25,000 or even lower prices.
Despite extensive claims that the shake-up will actually benefit Bitcoin in the long run, China and the attendant media attention around its mining crackdown seemed to be the primary source of bearishness.
“How is more Bitcoin mining power moving to the and the West a bad thing?” David Marcus, head of Facebook’s F2 project, queried on Monday.
“IMO China cracking down on mining is a great development for BTC.”
Above $25,000, support begins to ebb
BTC/USD was trading at $29,000 at the time of writing, with Bitstamp bouncing around $29,600.
As the market movement unfolded, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, apparently started having technical issues.
The newest representation from monitoring site Material Indicators shows purchasers lining up at $25,000, with events taking out the $30,000 holdings displayed in the Binance orderbook data.