Bitcoin Sinks Back to $21,000 Triggering $159 Million in Liquidations

Bitcoin is sinking back to lows not seen since January amid ongoing sell pressure spurred by Silvergate woes and hawkish central bank policy. 

Sinking below $21,000, the crypto market underwent over $150 million in liquidations on a 24-hour basis. 

Bitcoin traded for $21,811 at 14:19 UST on Thursday, before slowly sinking to $21,437 over the next four hours. 
Beginning at roughly 18:22 UST, Bitcoin quickly tanked from $21,431 to $20,969 at 18:53 UST. It trades for $20,927 at writing time. 
According to Coinglass, the drawdown has triggered $46.32 million in liquidations in the past hour alone. $26 million worth of liquidations came from Bitcoin trades, with another $11 million from ETH-related losses. 
Over the past day, 49,562 traders have been liquidated for $159.17 million in total. The largest single liquidation took place on BitMEX on an XBTUSD trade for $6.49 million.
Bitcoin traded well over $23,000 earlier this month until crypto banking giant Silvergate unveiled operational damages that would leave it unable to submit its annual financial results. The bank officially announced a voluntary wind down of operations on Wednesday – though it is still solvent. 
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell claimed on Tuesday that interest rates will likely need to be hiked further to combat inflation, which still remains well above its 2% target. Rising interest rates have proven a primary burden for both crypto and tech stocks over the past 12 months.