Bitcoin price CRASHES wiping hundreds of billions from global cryptocurrency markets
BITCOIN'S value crashed on Wednesday, sending crypto traders into panic.
The cryptocurrency dropped by thousands of dollars in just a few minutes early on Wednesday morning in what's known as a flash crash.
It's now trading at around $59,000, down more than $5,000 from the levels it was trading earlier this week.
The drop has wiped hundreds of billions from global .
It's led to a drop in the prices of a number of other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Binance Coin, Cardano, Solana and Ripple.
It comes a week after Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of close to $67,000.
Today's crash is partly driven by long-term holders selling at a high to take home profits, according to blockchain data. That's typical following a price spike.
However, the slump is expected to trigger a wave of new buyers tempted by the sudden dip in price.
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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices have rocketed this year. The combined crypto market is now said to be worth over $2.6trillion.
Bitcoin alone has added almost 400 per cent to its value since this time last year. However, it has dropped sharply in the past 24 hours.
Earlier this year, analysts warned that the cryptocurrency remains concentrated among a small number of holders.
At the end of 2020, the biggest 10,000 bitcoin holders held around 27 per cent of the total 18.6 million coins in circulation.
This makes Bitcoin susceptible to "systemic risk", researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research .
"Despite the significant attention that bitcoin has received over the last few years, the bitcoin ecosystem is still dominated by large and concentrated players, be it large miners, bitcoin holders or exchanges," they said.
"This inherent concentration makes bitcoin susceptible to systemic risk and also implies that the majority of the gains from further adoption are likely to fall disproportionately to a small set of participants."
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In other news, cyber security buffs are warning crypto fans of a scam that aims to rob unsuspecting victims of their Bitcoin.
Crypto investors were last month after a data provider showed a 90 per cent plunge in Bitcoin's value.
The price of Bitcoin rocketed in July following claims Amazon could start accepting the cryptocurrency as payment by the end of the year.
And, nine apps have had to be removed from the Google Play Store after they were caught stealing Facebook passwords.
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