The largest cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, declined sharply on Tuesday, continuing a major sell-off that started a week ago.
The cryptocurrency declined more than 13% to hit an intraday low of $38,585.86. Notably, it was the lowest level since February 9, the last time it fell below $40,000.
At midday, Bitcoin was trading above $40,000 again; however, it still down by around 12%.
However, news over the past week has dampened sentiment for BTC.
On May 12, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the electric carmaker had suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin, citing environmental concerns over the computational mining process.
The billionaire’s comments caused more than $300 billion to be wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market that day.
The announcement to suspend bitcoin payment came just three months after Tesla announced that it invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin and would accept Bitcoin in exchange for its products.
Early this week, the Tesla CEO reported the company may have sold its bitcoin holdings; however, he later announced that it has not sold any Bitcoin.
On May 18, three Chinese banking and payment industry bodies issued a statement warning financial institutions not to conduct virtual currency-related business, including trading or exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin is still up 40% year-to-date and over 300% in the last 12 months.
Mike Novogratz anticipats Bitcoin to consolidate in the range of $40,000 – $55,000
Other cryptocurrencies also fell. Ether, the cryprocurrency that powers the Ethereum blockchain, was down almost 16% at $2,960.29. Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started as a joke, dropped 16% and traded at $0.4189.
About $270 billion had been wiped off the entire value of the cryptocurrency market in 24 hours.
Remarkably, Bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz announced on Tuesday that he sees $40,000 as a buying level for Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the investor, who runs cryptocurrency financial services and investment management Galaxy Digital, announced he anticipates bitcoin to consolidate in the range of $40,000 – $55,000.
