Bitcoin suffers biggest price crash in more than a year

Bitcoin (BTC) has just crashed below $6,000 for the first time since May 2019 after losing more than 20% of its value in less than a day.

The price of Bitcoin briefly touched below $5,900 after more than $1,500 was wiped from its value in under an hour. Then the price rebounded back up to $6,700. Right now the price is $6,400 but it's changing rapidly and is varied across exchanges.

Bitcoin's market capitalization now sits at just under $120 billion—down from almost $142 billion this time yesterday. The rest of the cryptocurrency market is also experiencing a similar flash crash and reversal, though most major cryptocurrencies are still deeply in the red this morning, with losses of more than 20% seen across the board.

Ethereum (ETH) is down 30% to $140 and XRP down 18% to $0.17. Not a single coin in the top 100 coins by market cap is in the green right now—barring stablecoins and Bitfinex's Unus Sed Leo token, which has its own market principles.

Conversely the price of stablecoin Tether has jumped up to $1.03—when it's supposed to be stuck to the $1 mark—as traders flee the volatilite markets.

Although the exact cause behind the dump is uncertain, it appears that a huge influx of sell orders just hit the market, likely as a result of the World Health Organization declaring the recent COVID-19 issue a global pandemic.

You can see our latest updates on the situation here.