Bitcoin's price plummeted on Wednesday morning, dropping thousands of dollars in just a few minutes. The cryptocurrency fell below $59,000 following a "flash crash," down more than $5,000 from levels it was trading at earlier this week.
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The latest price drop comes less than a week after BTC hit a new all-time high (near $67,000).
Blockchain data suggests that the price collapse is being fueled in part by long-term holders taking some profits, which is what usually happens when Bitcoin reaches an all-time high.
Any sudden drop in price of more than a percent or two can trigger panic selling by crypto investors, although sharp drops also attract new buyers.
The flash crashes seen earlier in the year were followed by record-breaking bounce backs, with some crypto analysts predicting new highs that will be the highest of all time.
Other top cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum (ether), Binance Coin, Cardano (ada), Solana (SOL), and Ripple (XRP) all down between 5-15%.
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The total crypto market cap fell below $2.5 trillion – over $200 billion down from earlier this week.
The only cryptocurrency with a market cap above $20 billion to post gains was meme coin Shiba Inu. The dogecoin spin-off has doubled in price over the past week and bucked market trends on Wednesday before rising another 20%. The price surge appears to be driven by speculation that it could be listed on the popular trading app Robinhood.
Source of information: independent.co.uk
