Sudden crypto market drop sends bitcoin below $22,000

Bitcoin on Friday fell to its lowest level in more than three weeks, dipping below $22,000 amid a sudden crypto sell-off in early European trading. 

Bitcoin briefly plunged from $22,738 to below $21,500 at 2:30 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data, before recovering slightly to just under $22,000 over a ten-minute period.

It comes shortly after the world’s largest digital coin surpassed the $25,000 level for the first time since June following a rise in U.S. stocks.

Ether fell from $1,808 to $1,728 at the same time before staging a muted rebound. By 3:05 a.m. ET, it stood at $1,733, a level it has not traded at since Aug. 10. 

The cause of the drop, which also sent Binance Coin, Cardano and Solana falling, was not immediately clear. 

Bitcoin and ether ended Thursday in the red, but ether has surged more than 100% since mid-June as investors prepare for a massive upgrade in the ethereum network.