Global Crypto Market Loses 10% of Value in Past 24 Hours

LONDON — Early Tuesday saw a decline in the cryptocurrency market, with bitcoin taking the lead in losses.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market has decreased by approximately 10% in the last 24 hours, dropping from $218 billion to $193 billion.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell below the crucial threshold of $6,000 early in the trading session before making a slight recovery. By 10:55 a.m. BST (5:55 a.m. ET), bitcoin was down 3.4%, trading at $6,041.20. Other significant cryptocurrencies were experiencing similar declines during this period.

The bearish trend in the cryptocurrency market has intensified since late June, following the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to postpone a ruling on the approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Supporters of bitcoin believed that an approved ETF would have significantly boosted the market’s size.

The recent downturn began on Monday when Ethereum plunged to an 11-month low, partly due to startups that financed their projects through initial coin offerings converting their Ethereum holdings into fiat currency for operational expenses.

"If an ETF does not gain approval in the coming weeks, we can expect additional sell-offs, indicating that regulators may continue resisting the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies," noted Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, in an email on Tuesday. He warned that a decline below $5,770 for bitcoin would further increase selling pressure as this is the last major support level.

This downturn coincides with a sell-off in emerging-market currencies, prompted by last week’s significant drop of the Turkish lira against the dollar. Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, commented that this situation undermines the perception of cryptocurrencies as a safe haven.

"Ultimately, the US dollar and US Treasury notes remain the only true safe havens," Wilson stated.