Bitcoin crashes 30 percent as stocks suffer worst day in 30 years

Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest point in nearly a year after dropping below $6,000. Stocks aren’t doing much better, but could soon get help from the Fed.

By Nicholas Marinoff

2 min read

The markets are roilingboth traditional and crypto alike. Bitcoin has continued to slide this afternoon, falling to below $5,600 per coin. It’s now down nearly 30 percent on the day.

The top cryptocurrency by market cap initially fell to as low as $5,900 during today’s early morning hours. It recovered to just above $6,000, but is now trending downwards as traders continue to sell.

All in all, Bitcoin has lost close to $3,000 in value over the past week. On March 5, BTC was trading for $8,700 per coin. Prior, on February 15, Bitcoin hit a 2020 high of $10,352. Now, all those gains are gone, as the crypto asset trades for its lowest price since May 2019.

Bitcoin’s market cap currently sits at $107 billion, while the market cap for the entire crypto market has sunk to $160 billion. That’s a loss of more than $100 billion since last Saturday.

Meanwhile, stocks are likewise tanking, due to fears of a growing coronavirus pandemic and plunging oil prices, but they might soon get some relief. The US Federal Reserve plans to pump more than $1 trillion into the financial markets to alleviate the pain.

The Fed says it is planning to invest in several financial products from bonds and bills to assorted securities, and purchases will continue through mid-April.

Various stocks began rebounding early in the afternoon following the Fed’s announcement, though according to CNBC, these gains are “pared” in that they have already been absorbed by the market’s unbroken downtrend.

The Dow remains 2,300 points in the hole, closing at 21,200. It's 10 percent drop today is the worst market crash in more than three decades.

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