Bitcoin price loses $300 in battle to keep key support

Update: The price of Bitcoin has now dropped significantly below the $9,000 mark. One Bitcoin is now worth around $8,850—clearly the support failed.

Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped below $9,000 for the first time in almost a month. The cryptocurrency has broken fell down to $8,979 before recovering just slightly above the $9,000 price point. But the psychological support level may not last long.

Despite reaching a 2020 high of over $10,400 less than two weeks ago, Bitcoin has been in a strong decline ever since. Much of this bearish momentum occurred in the last day, during which Bitcoin lost five percent of its value as more than $7 billion was wiped from its market capitalization.

Practically every major cryptocurrency is experiencing big losses today, with some cryptocurrencies in the top ten by market capitalization down more than 12%. On the whole, the total cryptocurrency market has shrunk by 5.6%, indicating that Bitcoin is performing better than most cryptocurrencies.

It isn't just the cryptocurrency market that is in decline either; most other financial markets have also struggled in recent weeks. Some analysts suspect the recent coronavirus outbreak is the cause behind the recent market volatility. The situation is getting to a point where some blockchain companies are now beginning to roll out an action plan to safeguard against the virus.

But if it continues to spread, it could have a devastating impact on the crypto market in China and beyond.