This is the first time the virtual currency has plunged so low
Panic-stricken investors sent virtual unit bitcoin tumbling to its lowest level since late 2020 after a collapse in some stablecoin cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin fell below $26,000 for the first time in 16 months, amid a broader sell-off in cryptocurrencies that erased more than $200 billion from the entire market in a single day, according to a NBC report.
The price of bitcoin plunged as low as $25,919.33 on Thursday morning, according to Bitstamp data.
Bitcoin was caught in the fire-sale of risky crypto assets as it fell another 8% to $26,570, having been near $40,000 just a week ago and almost $70,000 last November.
This is the first time it has gone below the $27,000 mark since 2020, the report further said
Ether, the second-biggest digital currency, tanked to as low as $1,719.73 per coin. It’s the first time the token has fallen beneath the $2,000 mark since July 2021.
Investors are fleeing from cryptocurrencies at a time when stock markets have plunged from the highs of the coronavirus pandemic on fears over soaring prices and a deteriorating economic outlook. U.S. inflation data out Wednesday showed prices for goods and services jumping 8.3% in April, higher than expected by analysts and close to the highest level in 40 years.
Meanwhile, Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has also lost half its value in the past week, including its biggest one-day drop ever on Wednesday as the famously volatile crypto market weathers yet another slump.
Coinbase reported a $430 million net loss in the first quarter, or $1.98 per share, on declining sales and active users.
Analysts were expecting profit of 8 cents per share. Revenue was down as trading volumes fell, and active monthly users declined 19% from the fourth quarter.