Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dropped 4.77 percent on Thursday, pushing prices well below $6,400 for the first time in weeks.
At 00:58 UTC, just after Wednesday’s close, the cryptocurrency shed $400 over the course of 30 minutes, a move that found it crossing $6,400, for a time the market’s most reliable lower-bound support, for the first time since September 12, according to CoinDesk price data.
Bitcoin was last seen trading at $6,238.
At press time, bitcoin has lost momentum, having stalled briefly at around $6,125, the lowest figure since September 19, before crossing back above $6,200.
The volatility marked an end to stable trading that had been ongoing since that date, with prices in-between caught in a $300 range. After the levy finally broke, the pressure proved too costly for the bulls, who had to concede their losses and watch as the price dropped in quick succession.
The top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization also took a hit, dropping between 4 to 13 percent on the back of the bitcoin sell-off. XRP suffered the most, dipping 12.34 percent, while other major names like ether and bitcoin cash dropped 10-11 percent.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization also performed a nosedive, dropping $13.1 billion in total value over the course of the two-and-a-half-hour span.
Disclosure: The author holds USDT at the time of writing.
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