Bitcoin falls below $30,000 as entire market loses billions in value

Bitcoin fell below $30,000 for the first time since 22 June as around $89bn was wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market in 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency dipped more than 5% in the early hours of Tuesday morning which had a knock-on impact on other coins in the market.

Ether fell by more than 6% and XRP sank almost 9%, while litecoin is currently down 6%.

Since bitcoin reached an all-time high of nearly $65,000 in April, its value has plummeted by more than 50% in the following months.

There have been two proposed reasons for the market dip.

The first being that bitcoin’s plunge follows a big sell-off in the global stock market, with the Dow Jones tumbling 700 points on 19 June, marking its worst day since October 2020.

Speaking to CNBC, Annabelle Huang, partner at cryptocurrency financial services firm Amber Group said: “There’s been a broad sell-off in global markets, risk assets are down across the board. Coupled with recent bitcoin weakness, this just sent crypto market down further.”

The second reason being mooted in industry circles is a crackdown from Chinese authorities on cryptocurrency trading and mining having a knock-on effect on the market.

However, despite the market dip, new data shows institutional investors’ interest in cryptocurrency is continuing to grow.

Fidelity Digital Assets surveyed 1,100 investors and the majority noted they expected to invest in the market in the future, with 70% expecting to invest within the next five years.