Bitcoin drops below $17,500 as Coinbase/Kraken report issues

Bitcoin price fell more than 12% to touch lows of $17,114 on crypto exchange Coinbase.

Bitcoin declined more than 12% on Tuesday as a stunned crypto world descended into sell-off territory on news that Binance, led by Changpeng Zhao, had signed a letter of intent (LOI) for the acquisition of crypto exchange FTX.

Bitcoin sell-off pushes BTC below June 2022 lows

After an initial upward spike for the crypto market amid a positive take, Bitcoin nosedived to lows of $17,114 on crypto exchange Coinbase. 

The downside marks Bitcoin’s fall to its lowest price level since the crypto bloodbath in June, when the aftermath of the crash of Luna and Three Arrows Capital bankruptcy coincided with Bitcoin printing a low of $17,592.

With the sell-off crashing the FTX (FTT) token as much as 85% within hours on Tuesday – from highs of $22 to lows of $4.60 – other markets followed suit as uncertainty and fear reigned supreme.

Ethereum had fallen below $1,300 and Solana was getting smoked near $23.80 at the time of writing.

Coinbase and Kraken report connectivity issues

Meanwhile, leading crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase reported connectivity issues that only fueled the negative sentiment. 

Kraken announced an investigation into reports that certain users were having connectivity issues on its website as well as via mobile.

Coinbase also reported connectivity issues affecting its Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime platforms. An update the US-based crypto exchange posted an hour later noted improvement in network latency, but users were reportedly still having difficulty accessing the exchange’s various platforms.