Bitcoin and other major digital currencies dropped sharply Monday morning.
Bitcoin briefly tumbled to a low near $10,376 on Coinbase around 9 a.m., ET, marking a loss of more than 11 percent over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin traded near $10,720 as of 9:24 a.m., ET, on Coinbase, the leading U.S. marketplace for buying and selling major digital currencies.
Ethereum dropped below the psychologically key $1,000 level again and traded about 5 percent lower near $995, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin in the last 24 hours
Source: Coinbase
Ripple, the third largest digital currency by market capitalization, fell 10 percent to $1.24, according to CoinMarketCap.
It was not immediately clear why the cryptocurrencies were selling off.
Reuters reported Monday morning that new research from accounting giant Ernst & Young found that more than 10 percent of funds raised through “initial coin offerings” are lost or stolen in hacker attacks.
The digital currencies plunged in the middle of last week following concerns of increased cryptocurrency regulation in South Korea and China. Bitcoin even fell below the $10,000 level that it first topped in late November. However, prices had stabilized by the end of the week.
Bitcoin in the last week
Source: Coinbase
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, a noted Wall Street strategist, raised his price target on bitcoin Thursday and now sees the digital currency hitting $25,000 by the end of this year. Lee also said that $9,000 is low for bitcoin and offers a buying opportunity.
Source: Tech CNBC
Bitcoin tanks more than 10% to start week, now back below ,000