Ethereum loses 30% in worst price drop in two years

The price of Ethereum (ETH) has just crashed below $140 for the first time in three months after losing almost 30% of its value in the last 24 hours. This represents the worst single-day loss since January 2018.

The cryptocurrency currently sits at $137—down from almost $200 yesterday. But the price is constantly shifting.

Much of this bearish price action occurred in the last hour, during which Ethereum plummeted from $170 down to as low as $135 before bouncing slightly. These significant losses currently paint Etherem as one of the worst-performing cryptocurrencies today—despite the fact that the majority of cryptocurrencies are seeing losses of 20 to 30% across the board.

As a result, the Ethereum network has seen a sudden increase in transactions. Crypto exchange Coinbase has issued a notification that transactions are being delayed for Ethereum and Ethereum-based tokens. It's currently monitoring the network.

Every cryptocurrency in the top 100 by market capitalization—barring stablecoins—is in the red today as almost $50 billion was wiped off the total crypto market cap. Bitcoin (BTC) itself saw $22 billion lost from its market cap.

Today's sudden dump appears to be a late or indirect reaction to the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic—seemingly sending investors into a selling frenzy. The recent sell-off stretches far beyond just cryptocurrencies too, as the Dow Jones Industrials Average is down five percent in the last day, while the FTSE 100 is down more than 5.4%.

You can see our updates on the impact of the coronavirus on the wider markets here.