The cryptocurrency market has hit new lows as Bitcoin fell below $20,000 for the first time since 2020. 

On Saturday morning, the price of a Bitcoin dipped below $20,000, a threshold regarded as a crucial support level for the cryptocurrency. At the time of filing, Bitcoin is trading at $19,249 according to Coinbase. 

The second most popular cryptocurrency Ethereum has also seen new lows, as it had traded below $1,000. At this time, the current trading price for Ethereum price is $999.84, according to Coinbase.  Ethereum is down 9.67 per cent in the last 24 hours.

The crash at the markets follow a price increase by the Federal Reserve.  On Wednesday, the reserve increased its benchmark lending rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, making it the biggest hike since 1994. 

The volatility and a lack of liquidity in the Bitcoin market has made it increasingly difficult for large-scale crypto investors to continue holding, especially the collapse of a stablecoin called TerraUSD.

This week, Crypto platforms like Binance and Celsius announced that they were halting all withdrawals of Bitcoin and Coinbase began a hiring freeze and letting staff go.

The entire cryptocurrency markets crashed to a new low of 2022 in June, with its market cap shrinking below $1 trillion to $977 billion. This comes months after it hit the $3 trillion mark in November 2021.