Bitcoin has been trending downward for much of the last week as investors look for a new price catalyst

Bitcoin dropped below $27k as the latest banking crisis failed to spark the type of price boost that has taken place in recent weeks amid several U.S. bank collapses.

The original crypto currency was recently changing hands at nearly $26,950, more than 3 per cent lower during the last 24 hours. Bitcoin had been staying above $27k Thursday morning prior to declining below the mark around 5:00 pm, GMT. Bitcoin has been trending downward for much of the last week as investors look for a new price catalyst. Bitcoin dropped beneath $27k on Wednesday for the first time since March, recouped the threshold before dropping again.

In the meantime, a deposits outflow at PacWest Bancorp (PACW) that sent the bank’s stock price 22 per cent lower on Thursday did not spur strong demand for cryptos at this time, Edward Moya, senior market analyst for fore trader Oanda, wrote in a Thursday note.

Banking contagion concerns still remain low as some banks such as Western Alliance show rising deposits, he stated.

In an interview with CoinDesk, Greg Cipolaro, global head of research at NYDIG, compared the market’s trend to that during the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, “sensing a little bit of the same,” he stated.

It is a little bit of calm before the storm right now, Cipolaro stated. As we get into the talks in the end, the threshold will eventually be increased. There may be quite a bit of market volatility around that.

Ether, the second-biggest crypto currency in terms of market capitalization, followed a similar trend, declining more than 3.5 per cent to hover near $1,788 Thursday. Ether declined below $1,800 for the first time since late April, as per CoinDesk data. Layer 2 blockchain Polygon’s MATIC token dropped more than 4 per cent to change hands at near $.84 cents.