Bitcoin falls below $20,000 and Ethereum sinks past $1,000 as crypto market free fall continues

The crypto market suffered one of its most dramatic selloffs in years this week as the prices of top cryptocurrencies declined as much as 35% week-over-week as fears of a broad economic recession intensified.

On Saturday, the total global market cap of cryptocurrencies sank below $850 billion as top tokens tumbled.

Ethereum is trading at half of where it was one month ago, falling below the $1,000 price barrier which it has traded above since January of 2021. That figure is down roughly 80% since it’s all-time-high in November of last year. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, similarly eclipsed an important price barrier Saturday, falling below $20,000 after a weeks-long plunge ratcheted the currency down again and again.

While investors in top coins worry, smaller ecosystems are dealing with major hits as well as backers grow concerned about the survival of tokens and ecosystems that are still nascent at the edge of a bear market. There are still some 44 tokens with market caps north of $1 billion according to CoinMarketCap.

The latest crypto crash occurs as investors grow fearful of macroeconomic conditions and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation. Crypto investors have also seen a number of core protocols and services threatened by the rapid depreciation of assets with some worrying that the inter-reliance of these various services could cause cascading shutdowns.