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.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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