The cryptocurrency market experienced a massive nosedive today. $80 billion from the total capitalization were evaporated as Bitcoin plummeted below $17,000, while the altcoins had it even worse with notable double-digit price drops.
The alternative coins enjoyed the past few weeks with some remarkable increases. This led to yearly records for many altcoins, including Ethereum reaching $620 and Ripple at nearly $0.90.
However, the situation changed suddenly in the past 24 hours. The phrase “what goes up must come down” materialized with full force as the cumulative market capitalization of all cryptocurrency assets tanked from $580 billion to below $500 billion in less than a day.
Most altcoins have suffered double-digit drops. Ethereum, Binance Coin, Polkadot, and Litecoin have lost about 16% of value. As a result, ETH is down to $505, BNB struggles at $28, DOT is at $4.8, while LTC sits beneath $75.
Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, and Chainlink have dropped by 20% on a 24-hour scale. Ripple’s drop is even more damaging, as XRP has tanked by 25% to $0.52.
Further losses are evident from lower and mid-cap altcoins. Verge, which was also on a roll lately, has dived by 35% since yesterday.
Golem (-25%), Ziliqa (-25%), Reserve Rights (-24%), DigiByte (-24%), Nano (-23%), Loopring (-22%), Algorand (-22%), ICON (-22%), Status (-22%), and SushiSwap (-22%) are just a few more representatives of the double-digit losers.
The primary cryptocurrency was not exempt from the adverse price developments in the market. Bitcoin was booming lately, resulting in peaking at $19,500. While the community was speculating on how long it will take for BTC to break its all-time high, the asset decided to prove the bulls wrong.
In just a matter of hours, BTC lost $3,000 of value and bottomed at $16,500. Although it managed to reclaim the $17,000 mark, BTC is still down by 10% on a 24-hour scale.
While there’re numerous possible reasons why Bitcoin may have plummeted so vigorously, there’s some good news for the asset. BTC’s dominance over the market has increased to 62.5% after dipping to 60% a few days ago. This became possible as the altcoins have tanked even more than Bitcoin.
