# Why is the crypto market down today?

By [Emran](https://paragraph.com/@4545b) · 2023-08-19

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The worst week for the cryptocurrency market since November 2022 is coming to an end as its capitalization attempts to stay above $1 trillion.

Price trends across the cryptocurrency market remained in a downtrend on Aug. 19 as the total market capitalization tries to stay above $1 trillion.

Bitcoin

[**BTC**](https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price)

[**$26,112**](https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price)

price has also been [unable to hold the $26,000 level](https://cointelegraph.com/news/btc-price-26k-warning-bitcoin-sell-pressure-double) as the markets moved into the weekend.

**Bitcoin leads crypto market losses**
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The major down-move this week occurred on Aug. 17 following Elon Musk's SpaceX [reportedly writing off](https://cointelegraph.com/news/spacex-sold-bitcoin-acquired-2021-2022-report) its Bitcoin stash as well as several other major reasons.

Bitcoin, which controls nearly 50% of the total cryptocurrency market, reacted negatively to the SpaceX news as the selloff worsened amid a ["bloodbath" of mounting liquidations](https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-ether-price-slump-crypto-bloodbath-1-b-liquidations) across the crypto derivatives market.

**_Related:_** [**_Why did Bitcoin drop? Analysts point to 5 potential reasons_**](https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-did-bitcoin-price-suddenly-drop-analysts-explain)

As of Aug. 18, around 176,300 traders had liquidated $1.04 billion worth of contracts, with long exits making almost 80% of it. In other words, a long squeeze forced traders to sell at a loss to avoid even bigger losses.

The decline across the crypto market mirrored losses in the global stock market.

Notably, the MSCI World Index, which includes large and mid-cap stocks from twenty-three developed countries, dropped sharply on Aug. 17, as shown in the chart below. This coincided with mounting worries about [China's economy](https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-could-the-chinese-economic-crisis-impact-bitcoin-and-crypto) and [higher interest rates](https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-do-the-fed-s-interest-rates-impact-the-crypto-market).

[https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-is-the-crypto-market-down-today](https://cointelegraph.com/news/why-is-the-crypto-market-down-today)

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*Originally published on [Emran](https://paragraph.com/@4545b/why-is-the-crypto-market-down-today)*