The price of Bitcoin dropped by 37.5% in May after hitting a low of US$34,195 yesterday, the second-largest drop on record after it fell 40% in September 2011. It dropped 37% over the month drop in November 2018, and 24.7% in March 2020. BTC was trading at US$34,221 at press time.
- BTC’s price first took a hit earlier in mid-May when Tesla founder Elon Musk announced that the electric carmaker would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment due to environmental concerns. China’s recent announcements on restricting cryptocurrency mining and crypto use by banks and other businesses in the finance sector sent shockwaves through the industry, pushing prices down further.
- Large investors with the ability to influence price trends — known as “whales” — are thought to have weakened prices throughout the month as they sold off their holdings. The trend was exacerbated as new investors who bought during the recent bull run started panic selling.
- The price crash was market-wide — Ether reached an all-time high of US$4,356.99 on May 12, only to drop below US$2,000 by May 24. It has since recovered slightly, however, and ended the month down 12%.