Why did the cryptocurrencies crash today?
SEVERAL cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin tumbled the morning of February 23, by more than 10 percent.
Bitcoin fell below the $50,000 mark the morning of February 2, as Dogecoin and Ether plummeted by more than 10 percent.
Why did the cryptocurrencies crash today?
In less than 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin declined from $46,605 to $44,964.
Dogecoin – the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that's become an online cult favorite – plummeted by more than 20 percent to roughly 4.4 cents.
Ether, the second most expensive crypto next to Bitcoin, sank nearly 10 percent to $1,455.
The steep decline sent the cryptocurrency market's total value down about 16 percent to nearly $1.4trillion just days after it soared to all-time records, according to Coinmarketcap.
The steady decline of the cryptocurrencies seemed to be jumped started by Tesla CEO Elon Musk – one of crypto's most prominent backers.
On February 22, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accelerated the decline by intimidating the market and calling Bitcoin "extremely inefficient" and "highly speculative".
What did Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen say about cryptocurrency?
On Saturday, February 20, Musk may have unknowingly kickstarted the crypto plunge with a tweet declaring that the prices of Bitcoin and Ether "seem high".
On February 8, Tesla bought $1.5billion worth of Bitcoin, which sent the value of the crypto soaring.
On Monday, February 22, Tesla's shares slid by 8.6 percent, wiping $15.2billion from Musk's net worth – which resulted in him losing his post as the world's richest person – Bloomberg reported.
The crypto market was also spooked by skeptical comments from Treasury Secretary Yellen, who called bitcoin “extremely inefficient” and “highly speculative”.
“It is a highly speculative asset and you know I think people should beware it can be extremely volatile and I do worry about potential losses that investors could suffer,” Yellen reportedly said at a conference on February 22.
More to follow…
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