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The price of bitcoin has crashed dramatically, losing more than 10 per cent of its value in the space of just a few hours.
Several other cryptocurrencies also suffered heavy losses, including ether (ethereum), XRP (ripple) and bitcoin cash.
The sudden drop comes after months of sustained price growth, which saw the cryptocurrency rise from below $7,000 at the start of the year to above $10,000 by late February.
Some analysts attributed bitcoin's price rise to geopolitical turmoil at the start of the year, compounded by the coronavirus outbreak that has now seen more than 110,000 confirmed cases around the world.
The theory that moments of global crisis and uncertainty actually boost the price of cryptocurrency is unproven, though some claim it has become a safe-haven asset for investors when traditional markets are wobbling.
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/8 Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009
On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'
Reuters
2/8 Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time
On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins – the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices
Lazlo Hanyecz
3/8 Silk Road opens for business
Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin
4/8 The first bitcoin ATM appears
On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash
REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis
5/8 The fall of MtGox
The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed
Getty Images
6/8 Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up
In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim
Getty Images
7/8 Bitcoin's big split
On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash
REUTERS
8/8 Bitcoin's price sky rockets
Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year
Reuters
1/8 Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009
On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'
Reuters
2/8 Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time
On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins – the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices
Lazlo Hanyecz
3/8 Silk Road opens for business
Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin
4/8 The first bitcoin ATM appears
On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash
REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis
5/8 The fall of MtGox
The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed
Getty Images
6/8 Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up
In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim
Getty Images
7/8 Bitcoin's big split
On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash
REUTERS
8/8 Bitcoin's price sky rockets
Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year
Reuters
The latest crash appears to dispel this narrative, as it coincided with the sharpest rise in coronavirus-related deaths since the outbreak began.
It was also in line with the UK's FTSE 100 share index, which fell by 8 per cent on Monday in one of the worst single drops since the 2008 financial crisis.
"The dramatic loss in value mirrored the falls in equities as well as oil, with the main markets reacting to further negative news about the coronavirus," said Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of London-based cryptocurrency firm Luno.
"The question for cryptocurrencies is where next. Market analysts had been predicting a price correction in the coins and if this is part of this process we may see buyers coming back to the sector.
"If this is a deeper sell off linked to the coronavirus then we could see trading in line with the main markets."