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Bitcoin (BTC) megahodler MicroStrategy can ride out further BTC price declines, even if it falls to just $3,500, its CEO confirms.

In a tweet on June 14, Michael Saylor sought to allay fears that his firm's BTC exposure may be about to cost it dearly.

Saylor stays calm as MSTR dips further

With the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, MicroStrategy has felt the pain of this year's BTC price declines — at least on paper.

According to the monitoring resource Bitcoin Treasuries, the firm's 129,218 BTC stack is currently being held at a net loss of $1.06 billion — around two-thirds of its total market cap.

This week, rumors over a potential default on a $205 million used to purchase those reserves intensified. Specifically, BTC/USD dropping below $21,000 would trigger a margin call, potentially losing MicroStrategy its position if it did not respond with extra capital.

Bitcoin (BTC) came within $1,000 of its previous cycle all-time highs on June 14 as liquidations mounted across crypto markets. 

Bitcoin price hits 18-month lows

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $20,816, on Bitstamp, its lowest since the week of December 14, 2020.

A sell-off that began before the weekend intensified after the June 13 Wall Street opening bell, with Bitcoin and altcoins falling in step with United States equities.

The S&P 500 finished the day down 3.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 4.7% ahead of key comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its anti-inflation policy.

The worst of the rout was reserved for crypto, however, and with that, BTC/USD lost 22.4% from the start of the week to the time of writing.

Bitcoin (BTC) came within $1,000 of its previous cycle all-time highs on June 14 as liquidations mounted across crypto markets. 

Bitcoin price hits 18-month lows

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $20,816, on Bitstamp, its lowest since the week of December 14, 2020.

A sell-off that began before the weekend intensified after the June 13 Wall Street opening bell, with Bitcoin and altcoins falling in step with United States equities.

The S&P 500 finished the day down 3.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 4.7% ahead of key comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its anti-inflation policy.

The worst of the rout was reserved for crypto, however, and with that, BTC/USD lost 22.4% from the start of the week to the time of writing.

Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty has slammed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for trying to “bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt” crypto innovation in the U.S. in the name of expanding its own regulatory territory:

“By bringing enforcement actions–or threats of potential enforcement–the SEC intends to bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt crypto innovation in the U.S., all in the name of impermissibly expanding its own jurisdictional limits.”

Alderoty shared his views on Monday amid an ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the regulator, which he says is part of the “SEC’s assault on all crypto in the U.S.” by treating every cryptocurrency as a security:

“Like a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security.”

Ripple Labs has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020, when the securities regulator filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple executives had used Ripple (XRP) tokens to raise funds for the company starting in 2013, claiming it was unregistered security at the time.

Bitcoin's (BTC) month-long choppy price action came to an end on June 13 after a deep market sell-off pressed the top cryptocurrency under the $29,000 support. The move took place as equities markets also sold off sharply, hitting their lowest levels of the year. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the Bitcoin sell-off began late in the day on June 12 and escalated into midday on June 13, when BTC hit a low of $22,592.

Here’s a look at what several market analysts are saying about Bitcoin's drop and whether this is the final capitulation event before the long-awaited price bottom.

Is there solid support at $23,000?

Previous instances of bear market capitulation have seen a solid level of support at Bitcoin’s 200-week moving average, as shown in the following chart posted by market analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user “Rekt Capital.”

Based on the trend from the last two cycles, Rekt Capital suggested that it's possible that BTC could see a “macro double bottom at the 200-week moving average” moving forward if the price action plays out in a similar fashion.

Crypto traders and investors started out the week with a major shock to the markets. As assets across the blockchain industry went into a collective dive on Monday, users took to Twitter to voice their dismay (or in some cases jubilation) with the current state of crypto.

Inflation, potential interest rate hikes, a looming recession, and yet another DeFi fiasco have all contributed to the current onslaught seen in markets on Monday. As a result, Bitcoin's (BTC) price plunged to levels not seen since late 2020, several crypto exchanges limited users from withdrawing their tokens, an increasing number of Web3-centric companies announced layoffs, and the floor prices of various nonfungible token (NFT) projects tumbled.

Taking a look at a few tweets from seasoned crypto enthusiasts shows the overall sentiment. Holding Bitcoin and alts is the true crypto investors' theme, however, some appear to be experiencing a weakening of their supposed diamond hands. As one user noted:

The crypto space isn’t alone in its plight, with the entire stock market experiencing a major loss in tandem. Increased monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve has caused investors to sell off many types of stocks as the S&P 500 fell 4% to reach a new low for 2022.

Whales and former whales have begun to make their voices heard as the realization that they’ve lost a massive chunk of their wealth becomes evermore apparent.

On June 13, cryptocurrency prices plunged deeper into bear market territory after Bitcoin (BTC) sliced through its current trading range and briefly touched $22,600, its lowest level se since December 2020.

According to BTC historical data, the market has now reached valuation metrics that show the price is severely oversold and perhaps near a bottom. Bitcoin has now fallen below its realized price, which represents the average price of every coin in supply based on the time it was last spent on-chain.

While the pain that this most recent capitulation has wrought across the ecosystem can’t be understated, the one glimmer of hope it offers weary crypto traders is that the worst of the decline could have occurred. The coming days will confirm this theory and proof would be institutions and retail traders stepping in to buy the dip.

"Shrimps and whales" accumulate

On-chain data shows that not all traders feel devastated about Bitcoin at yearly lows. Shrimp wallets, wallets that hold less than 1 BTC, and whale wallets with more than 10,000 BTC have been in accumulation mode since the old Terra (LUNA), now known as Luna Classic (LUNC), collapsed in early May.

According to data from blockchain intelligence provider Glassnode, shrimp wallets “have seen a net balance growth of +20,863 since the May 9th Luna crash,” and a total increase of 96,300 BTC since November's all-time high (ATH).

The United States equities markets extended their decline to start the week on June 13. The S&P 500 hit a new year-to-date low and dipped into bear market territory, falling more than 20% from its all-time high made on Jan. 4. 

The cryptocurrency markets are tracking the equities markets lower and the selling pressure further intensified due to the rumored liquidity crisis of major lending platform Celsius and traders possibly selling positions to meet margin calls. This pulled the total crypto market capitalization below $1 trillion.

The sharp declines have led some analysts to project extremely bearish targets. While anything is possible in the markets and it is difficult to call a bottom, capitulations usually tend to start a bottoming formation. Traders may get their buy list ready and consider accumulating in phases after the price stops falling.

What are the important levels that may arrest the decline in Bitcoin (BTC) and major altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin broke below the immediate support at $28,630 on June 11. This accelerated selling and the bears pulled the price below the critical support at $26,700 on June 12. This indicated the resumption of the downtrend.