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Summary
- The price of Bitcoin fell below US$35,000 in early trade on Sunday, amid a broader sell-off in crypto coins.
- Ethereum declined 8.3% to US$2,306, and Dogecoin dropped nearly 5% to US$0.301 during the bearish session.
- Bearish news as well as the growing crackdown in China is fueling negativity in the crypto market.
The cryptocurrency market continued a bearish trend on Sunday following a roller-coaster week of trading, with major digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ether witnessing a drop in their value, triggered by a growing crackdown in China and rising environmental concerns.
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest digital currency by market capitalisation, fell below US$35,000 in early trade on Sunday, amid a broader sell-off in crypto coins. The most popular crypto coin traded in the range of US$33,464 and US$37,320 in the last 24 hours, delivering a negative return of 3.95%.
At the time of reporting, the BTC was trading around US$34,861, down 4.5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk 20 data.
Meanwhile, Ethereum, the world’s second-largest crypto, declined 8.3% to US$2,306, and Dogecoin dropped nearly 5% to US$0.301 during the bearish session.
Also Read: How Cryptocurrencies as Form of Payment can Potentially Benefit Consumers & Businesses
Bitcoin, Ether down nearly 50% from year’s high
Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, has seen a massive slump over the past two weeks amid warnings from Chinese officials to tighten regulation on cryptocurrencies and Elon Musk-led Tesla's move to halt payments over concerns about energy use. The price of Bitcoin is down 46% from the record high of US$65,000 in April of this year. The crypto has lost a significant value due to a ripple effect of the digital market crash.
In a similar trend, Ether, which is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain platform, dropped 47% from its all-time high of $4,382 touched in May 2021. Despite the recent slump, Ether has risen more than 200% since the start of 2021.
The price of meme-based Dogecoin has tumbled nearly 60% from its record high of US$0.740. In spite of recent losses, it still delivered astonishing returns of 6,300% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.
Good Read: Hopping on the Bitcoin bandwagon? Check out pros and cons before you invest
What is Causing Crypto Market to Fall?
The major reasons for the recent downtrend in cryptos are Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s confusing tweets and a crackdown on cryptocurrency regulations in China. China's central government vowed last week that it would hand out severe penalties for illegal financial activities, specifically targeting Bitcoin mining and trading.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) billionaire Elon Musk’s various flip-flopping regarding the cryptos have also impacted the price movement. Earlier this month, Musk announced that Tesla would stop accepting Bitcoin as payment for their vehicles, which left investors jittery. The SpaceX Founder cites his reasoning for Tesla’s decision to cease accepting Bitcoin as the damage to the environment caused by energy-consuming Bitcoin mining.
Adding to the woes, US President Joe Biden’s budget proposal to include several new crypto reporting requirements further dampened investor sentiment.
Also Read: Should organizations pay wages in bitcoin?
