Bitcoin price fell below $20,000 for the first time since late 2020 on Saturday, signaling a new wave of deepening cryptocurrency sell-offs.

Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, dropped by 9% to under $19,000, according to CoinDesk. The last time Bitcoin was at this level was in November 2020, when it was on its way to an all-time high of around $69,000.

Bitcoin has now lost more than 70 percent of its value since reaching that peak. Ethereum, another widely followed cryptocurrency that had been declining in recent weeks, experienced a similar decline on Saturday.

Investors are selling high-risk assets as central banks raise interest rates to combat accelerating inflation. A series of cryptocurrency collapses has wiped out tens of billions of dollars of investor assets and sparked urgent calls for regulating the free-wheeling industry.

The cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network said this month that it had temporarily halted all withdrawals and transfers, with no indication of when it will allow its 1.7 million customers access to their funds.

The stablecoin Terra collapsed last month, wiping out tens of billions of dollars within hours.