05-19-2021, 02:39 PM
$280 billion wiped off crypto market as bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks
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- Bitcoin fell more than 13% to hit an intraday low of $38,585.86 at around 12:54 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data. That was the lowest level since Feb. 9, the last time it dropped below $40,000.
- Bitcoin is off about 39% from its all-time high of $64,829.14 in mid-April.
- Tesla’s decision on May 12 to suspend vehicle purchases using bitcoin caused over $300 billion to be wiped off the cryptocurrency market.
- On Tuesday, three Chinese banking and payment industry bodies issued a statement warning financial institutions not to conduct virtual currency related business.
Bitcoin fell sharply on Tuesday continuing a major sell-off that began a week ago.
The digital currency fell over 13% to hit an intraday low of $38,585.86 at around 12:54 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data. It was the lowest level since Feb. 9, the last time it dropped below $40,000.
Negative news over the past week has dampened sentiment for bitcoin.
On May 12, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric carmaker had suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin, citing environmental concerns over the so-called computational “mining” process. This is where high-powered computers are used to solve complex mathematical puzzles to enable transactions using bitcoin.
Musk’s comments caused over $300 billion to be wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market that day.
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