Bitcoin is currently down sharply, hitting its lowest level and officially entering a bear market. It is said to have sunk nearly 8% in the last 24 hours, to $54,321 million per piece.
Based on the information we compiled from Livemint, this drop brings the world's largest Cryptocurrency to its lowest level since early October. It's down 20% from an all-time high, where it was close to touching $69K.
Not only did Bitcoin plummet, but other digital currencies suffered the same fate, such as Ether, dropping more than 10% to USD 4,059. Then followed by XRP, tumbling 9.9% to under 95 cents.
It is known that the cause is because a new variant of COVID appears. The virus is highly mutated and has been detected for the first time in South Africa.
The latest type, known as the corona virus B.1.1.529. Apart from South Africa, it has also been identified in Botswana and Hong Kong, where it is said to be more contagious.
At least there have been several cases that have occurred in each of these countries, including:
77 cases in Gauteng Province, South Africa.
4 cases in Botswana.
1 case in Hong Kong (related to travel from South Africa).
As a result, global markets sank, with European stocks set for their worst session in more than a year. United States (US) equity benchmarks were also lower in early trading.
Although, the emergence of new virus variants is not the only reason that Bitcoin and friends are down. Analysts cite a number of other obstacles, including US tax reporting requirements for digital currencies, China's intensifying regulatory tightening and India's view on a new bill, which could lead to mostly private cryptocurrencies.