Bitcoin plunged to its lowest price in three-months Tuesday, when global mainstream markets also witnessed a collapse across the board.
At one stage the most popular digital currency briefly fell below $6,000 to its lowest since mid-November, according to CoinDesk.
After a sharp loss in value on Monday, it was a dramatic fluctuation for Bitcon on Tuesday.
After opening at $6914, the soft coin rose briefly to $7103 before plummeting again.
At 8 AM UTC (3 AM ET), Bitcon was valued at $5,947.40, the day's lowest, but was showing signs of recovery as the day progressed.
Simultaneously, the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies fell Tuesday to the lowest level since November 26. Bitcoin was the worst hit, losing its value by around 20 percent on a 24-hour basis.
The latest in a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency follows reports that have raised worries about increased regulation and likely price manipulations.
Meanwhile, Jay Clayton, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and J. Christopher Giancarlo, Chairman, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will give an account of their approach to cryptocurrencies, before the U.S. Senate Tuesday.
Bitcoin is now trading at just one third of a record high price of $19,511 it reached six weeks ago.
Crypto experts had warned in December that the "bubble" will burst, and could fall another 50 per cent.
And with today's decline, Bitcoin has lost more than 50 percent for the year so far.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.