Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, and Dogecoin DOGE/USD tumbled sharply at press time.
What Happened: Major cryptocurrencies dropped suddenly late night Thursday. BTC fell 7.75% to $38,696.38 below the psychologically important $40,000 mark over 24 hours.
The fall in ETH was sharper as the second largest coin fell nearly 9% to $2,843.86 over 24 hours. DOGE was down 8.3% at $0.15 in the same period.
See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)
Why It Matters: The global cryptocurrency market cap plunged 7.3% to $1.8 trillion. On Thursday, it was reported that Russia’s central bank has called for a ban on cryptocurrencies.
Russia is among the top three countries for Bitcoin mining, according to Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
“If this proposal [from the Bank of Russia] passes, Bitcoin could slide below the $40,000 level,” said Moya, in a note seen by Benzinga.
Read Next: Dogecoin Refuses To Budge But Here's Why There's Increased Clamor For McDonald's Acceptance Today
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.