Bitcoin dips below $6,000 amid cryptocurrency sell-off

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The top 80 digital currencies by market capitalization were also lower as of Tuesday afternoon, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. The total crypto market capitalization has fallen by about $19 billion in the past 24 hours.

Ether, which is the second largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin, was the biggest loser among the top five by market capitalization and fell to its lowest level since September, according to historical data from CoinMarketCap.com. The cryptocurrency dropped more than 12 percent to $260 as of 1:40 p.m. ET. XRP meanwhile fell 10 percent to 26 cents.

The latest digital coin rout followed bitcoin’s rally last month above $8,000. News of institutional interest in the space by the likes of asset management giant BlackRock, as well as a collaborationbetween New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental ExchangeStarbucks and Microsoft on a digital asset platform, had lifted sentiment in the market.

Charles Hayter, chief executive of digital comparison site CryptoCompare, said the downward move in cryptocurrencies was on the back of the postponement of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF, proposed by VanEck and Solid X. If approved, that ETF would be the first to track cryptocurrency assets.

Hayter described Monday’s sell-off as “momentum-based selling following the ETF kickback,” and “the usual gyrations of a market in a depressed mode.”

The SEC’s move to delay a decision on the VanEck Solid X bitcoin trust ETF followed the regulator’s rejection of a separate ETF proposal from the Winklevoss twins. Cameron and Tyler Winklevosshad made a second attempt to list shares of a bitcoin ETF, which would have been commodity-based.

Bitcoin has recently recovered its dominance in the market as several so-called “altcoins,” or alternative cryptocurrencies, have plummeted in value. Still, it’s down roughly 70 percent from the all-time high near $20,000 hit in December.

Original story: https://tinyurl.com/y98fq7km

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