Crypto: $500B Rally Erased in 20 Minutes

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market snapped out of a 110-day freeze on August 19 with a sharp rally that added $500 billion in market cap inside 36 hours, only to erase $110 billion in 20 minutes at 12:30 AM ET on August 22. The move began at 8:30 AM on the day of President Trump's Crypto Summit without any supporting headlines, produced the seventh-largest liquidation event in history by the next morning, and then accelerated on thin Friday volume before the rapid reversal. BTC price action showed no single market-moving catalyst across the entire swing.