![Bitcoin breaks below $30,000 in flash crash event; altcoins bleed](https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/themes/cryptoslate-2020/imgresize/timthumb.php?src=https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/market-correction.jpg&w=70&h=37&q=75)
Bitcoin breaks below $30,000 in flash crash event; altcoins bleed
Bitcoin price dropped as low as $29,010 on April 19 — as derivative open interest also tanked in a price flash crash.
![Bitcoin breaks below $30,000 in flash crash event; altcoins bleed](https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/market-correction-768x403.jpg)
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
At 09:00 BST, Bitcoin (BTC) lost $30,000, sinking as low as $29,010 at the time of press — a 3.6% drawdown.
A bounce saw the 09:15 BST 15-minute candle close at $29,285. However, bears continue piling on the selling pressure — dipping the subsequent candles in readiness for a retest of $29,010 support.
![Bitcoin 15 minute chart](https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/BTCUSD_2023-04-19_10-06-38-1024x465.png)
Twitter user @VetleLunde, an analyst at K33 Research, noted that Bitcoin Open Interest on Binance “puked 5.1% in the last 15 minutes.”
The chart below shows the number of open contracts sinking to approximately 94,300 — from 99,587.
![Bitcoin Open Interest](https://cryptoslate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FuEF2GZXwAYby8N-1024x581.jpg)
In response, the total crypto market cap lost $40.2 billion over the last 15 minutes — representing a 3% loss in value to $1.228 trillion at the time of press.
Over the past hours, the biggest top 100 altcoin losers were Dash, MultiversX, and CurveDAO Token, down 4.4%, 4.1%, and 4%, respectively.