Bitcoin Falls Below $60K as US Infrastructure Bill Moves Ahead

The crypto market is again a sea of red, with Bitcoin plunging to a low of $59,483 at press time, according to CoinGecko. This marks a 9.7% drop in the leading cryptocurrency.

According to data provided by Coinglass, $807.78 million worth of longs has been liquidated in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin liquidations make up more than 30% of that total.

This is the lowest level the world’s largest cryptocurrency has seen since October 28. The latest price action has dragged the rest of the market down as well.

Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset by market cap, also dropped by 11.3% and hit $4,202, at press time. This price level has not been since the end of October.

Today’s carnage comes shortly after both cryptocurrencies had enjoyed new highs, week after week. On November 9, both Bitcoin and Ethereum reached new all-time highs of $69,0444 and $4,878, respectively.

Other major cryptocurrencies, including Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), XRP, Polkadot (DOT), and Dogecoin (DOGE), are also down by double-digits, with the combined crypto market capitalization dropping from just above $3 trillion on Monday to $2.7 trillion by press time.

What’s got Bitcoin, Ethereum down?

While the exact impetus behind today’s market plunge is up for debate, there are several bearish developments that could be attributed to the latest price action.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law on Monday, which included controversial crypto tax provisions for entities that now can be defined as “brokers,”—even if these entities don’t actually handle funds.

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden have heavily opposed the bill. Both have now introduced an alternative legislative initiative that would see certain actors being excluded from tax reporting requirements.

Across the globe, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on Tuesday that it is doubling down on the government’s efforts to eliminate cryptocurrency mining activities in the country.

The punitive measures would include higher power prices on companies that defy the ban that was introduced earlier this year.

This wave of bearish news appears to have snuffed out booming optimism from last week. It remains to be seen, however, how long the crypto bears will be in control.