Bitcoin price falls below $19,000

Bitcoin slipped below $19,000 on Tuesday evening after days of sideways movement. 

According to data from the Coinmarketcap platform, the oldest and best-known cryptocurrency has meanwhile reached its lowest level since the end of June at just over 18,600 US dollars. At the moment the price is slightly over 18,700 US dollars.

After the price slide on Tuesday, Bitcoin is now focusing on the annual low of just under $17,593 reached in mid-June.

Momentum lost due to the merge?

Things didn't look too rosy for other cryptocurrencies either: Ethereum, for example, lost around 10 percent in value and dropped to just over 1500 US dollars. 

However, there is still some distance to the annual low of less than 900 US dollars in mid-June. 

The expectation of the update that started yesterday for Ethereum's switch from mining to the Proof of Stake consensus process had provided the impetus to the crypto market in the past few weeks. Apparently, they're gone again. 

The Ethereum classic currency, which had risen significantly before the merger, fell from over 41 US dollars to just over 33 US dollars.

On the market, the price weakness of digital currencies was justified by the tight monetary policy in the USA. The Fed is trying to curb the sharp rise in prices with higher interest rates. 

The European Central Bank is also expected to announce a rate hike at its meeting on Thursday. Observers expect interest rates to rise by 0.75 percentage points to a base rate of 1.25 percent.

However, rising interest rates increase the attractiveness of fixed-income securities and are therefore usually very disadvantageous for risky asset classes, which include Bitcoin and Co. due to their sometimes extreme price fluctuations.