Bitcoin price crashes by over 10 percent

Cryptocurrencies were counting their losses on Tuesday after prices plunged a day earlier, in a shocking turn that saw approximately half a trillion dollars in loss recorded in the global crypto market. 

This sudden downward trend in the market comes on the heels of the rising uncertainty trailing the spillover risk posed to the global economy by Chinese property group Evergrande’s troubles.

Asides from the Evergrande saga, another factor said to have played a crucial role in this trend is speculation about planned clampdown by US lawmakers and watchdogs on crypto.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the Biden administration is “preparing an array of actions, including sanctions, to make it harder for hackers to use digital currency to profit from ransomware attacks”.

The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency Bitcoin fell by up to 10 percent on Monday to about US$40,000 (€34.000), the lowest rate recorded since Aug 7. 

It saw a slight recovery on Tuesday, trading at about US$43,000 (€36.000). This crash followed Bitcoin’s four-month high trading rate of $52,000 (€44.313) recorded on September 6.

Bitcoin didn’t take the hit alone, as several smaller rivals, including Ether – the coin linked to the Ethereum blockchain network and the second most valuable cryptocurrency – also fell by over 10 percent on Monday, while Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot fell between 7 and 12 percent on Monday.