Bitcoin rebounds from lowest level since June, turns positive

– Bitcoin’s price fell below $19,000 on Wednesday morning, at one point hitting its lowest level since June, following a drop in stock markets globally and the continued strength of the U.S. dollar.

– The value of the entire cryptocurrency market also fell below $1 trillion as digital coins across the board saw a sell-off.

– Bitcoin found its way back above $19,000 late in the day and was last trading less than 1% higher at $19,044.30, according to Coin Metrics.

– Ether, which has far outpaced bitcoin’s gains in recent months, hovered below the flat line, at $1,571.20.

– Central banks around the world are battling rampant inflation with tightening monetary policy. The U.S. Federal Reserve has undertaken a series of interest rate hikes totaling 2.25 percentage points. Markets are expecting further interest rate rises.

– Policy tightening by the Fed has strengthened the U.S. dollar which has weighed on risk assets. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield has also surged.

– Bitcoin has traded in correlation to stocks and so if they fall, in general, so does the cryptocurrency.

– The sell-off has been caused by a tough environment for risk assets as well as crypto-specific issues including collapsed projects and bankruptcies that has spread across the industry.