Earlier in the session, crypto prices had been on the rise, with bitcoin (BTC) nearing the $69,000 level and perhaps readying for a late-day or weekend challenge of topping $70,000 for the first time in three months. In the minutes following the news on Tether, bitcoin had tumbled to as low $66,500, down nearly 2% over the past 24 hours, before modestly bouncing back to $66,800. The broader market gauge CoinDesk 20 Index was lower by 2.3% over the same time frame.