The %Cryptocurrency market is plunging alongside stocks, wiping $270 billion U.S. in value off digital assets in the last 24 hours.
The price of %Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) is down 14% and %Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH) has fallen 18% as investors sell risky assets and flee to the safety of bonds and gold.
Data from %CoinGecko shows that the overall value of the cryptocurrency market has declined by $270 billion U.S. since Sunday (Aug. 4).
The selloff in the crypto market is happening alongside a massive plunge in equities, with the technology-laden Nasdaq index and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average each down more than 1,000 points ahead of the market’s open today (Aug. 5).
Overseas in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell as much as 12%, sending that index into bear market territory as it experienced its worst one-day performance since the 1987 Black Monday crash.
Rising fears that the U.S. economy is entering a recession and that the U.S. Federal Reserve has been too slow to lower interest rates are behind the worldwide selloff.
In crypto markets, Bitcoin’s price has fallen to $50,975 U.S. At one point, Bitcoin’s price was at $49,111.10 U.S., its lowest level since mid-February of this year.
Bitcoin’s price has now lost nearly 20% of its value in the past week. In late July, BTC was trading above $70,000 U.S.
Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin, has seen its gains for this year wiped out by the plunge over the past 24 hours.
Smaller cryptocurrencies are also under pressure, with Binance’s BNB token down more than 15% and Solana (SOL) down more than 10%.
%Litecoin (CRYPTO: $LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are each trading 17% lower on the day.
Stocks related to cryptocurrencies are also taking a beating, with shares of digital exchange %Coinbase (NASDAQ: $COIN) down 19% and Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) stock down 24%.
In addition to the global risk-off sentiment that has gripped markets, the cryptocurrency sector is also struggling with continued selling pressure due to distributions from the bankrupt Mt. Gox crypto exchange.
Bitcoin is now below its key support level of $55,000 U.S. However, Bitcoin’s price is still up about 15% this year.