Bitcoin’s value fell around 17% on Tuesday, sparking investors to sell off their assets across cryptocurrency markets.
Bitcoin’s value pushed to around $58,000 after Tesla invested $1.5bn into Bitcoin earlier this month, but this may lead to pressure on the company’s stock price as the company has exposed itself to risk in the cryptocurrency’s volatile price.
Cryptocurrency markets have been running hot this year as investors have begun to take the emerging asset class seriously. Smaller speculators have had their confidence in the currency bolstered by larger investors pushing money into the crypto market. Ongoing lacklustre consumer savings options have almost certainly piqued interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurency among smaller investors.
The drop represented a slump of almost a fifth, from a record high of $58,354 on Sunday. Bitcoin, however, does remain up around 60% for the year.