Bitcoin prices plunged by more than 20 per cent on Saturday, as uncertainty and macro-economic concerns led to the sale of some $2.5bn (£1.9bn) worth of cryptocurrency.
During the day, bitcoin fell as low as $41,967 (£32,000), losing 22 per cent of its value, before rebounding to $47,540 (£36,000) as of 2.30pm GMT.
Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, linked to Ethereum, saw its value tumble by 13 per cent, hitting a low near $3,500 (£2,650) on Saturday.
According to Coingecko, a cryptocurrency data platform, the market capitalisation of the 11,392 coins that it tracks dropped by nearly 20 per cent to $2.2 trillion. Last month, cryptocurrencies on the platform recorded a market capitalization of over $3 trillion when bitcoin hit a record high of $69,000 (£52,000).
Bitcoin has since dropped about 30 per cent but remains up more than 60 per cent this year. This marks a return that far exceeds other assets.
Data from Coinglass, another data platform, showed that over $2.5billion had been liquidated over the past 24 hours, marking the most significant day of cryptocurrency sales…
