As
Bitcoin (BTC) nears its lowest level of the year, the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies has dropped by more than US$21 billion over the past 24 hours, with analysts warning the market has hit “
panic mode”.
The world's largest digital currency by market value tumbled as low as US$5,900 earlier today and was down over 4%, according to the
Einstein Exchange index data. At press time, BTC had recovered to just a shade under US$6,000.
Bitcoin's price is now close to its lowest point of the year on June 18, when it retreated to US$5,785.
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Ethereum (ETH), the digital token of the Ethereum blockchain, fell to its lowest level since September 2017, according to data from
TradingView. The cryptocurrency fell roughly 7% to $267.49 at press time. Ripple (XRP) meanwhile fell 8.3% to 26 cents.
The latest digital coin rout followed a rally last month that saw Bitcoin climb above US$8,000. News of institutional interest in the space by the likes of asset management giant
BlackRock, as well as a collaboration between New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange, Starbucks, and Microsoft on a digital asset platform, had lifted sentiment in the crypto market.
The total market capitalization of virtual currencies has now dropped to about US$193 billion. That’s down from a peak of around US$835 billion in January.
Ethereum experienced the biggest drop in value of all the major digital currencies, falling by nearly 20% over the last 48 hours to hit its lowest price in almost a year.
Cryptocurrency analysts have linked the latest market movements to the liquidation of funds raised through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), meaning companies may be selling ETH raised through the popular fundraising mechanism.
