By ALAN SUDERMAN, AP Business Writer
After holding relatively stable during last week’s global market turmoil, cryptocurrencies have joined the sell-off.
Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency dipped below $75,000 Monday morning before seeing a slight rebound.
Bitcoin’s prices haven’t been this low since just after President Donald Trump’s Election Day victory last year launched a bull run in crypto prices. Trump, whose tariff announcements led to massive stock sell offs, has been a major promoter of the crypto industry and previously took credit when bitcoin’s price broke $100,000 in December. Bitcoin has been on a relatively steady slide in price since Trump took office earlier this year.
Bitcoin’s backers say it is a type of digital gold that can act as a hedge against volatility. But Garrick Hileman, an independent cryptocurrency analyst, said bitcoin’s price slide shows that thesis still hasn’t proven to be true.
“It’s just not there today,” he said. “(Bitcoin) trades like a risky tech stock.”
Other major digital assets saw even bigger one-day percentage drops on Monday morning.
Ether, the second most popular crypto token, was trading at about $1,500 on Monday morning. It’s lost about half of its value since Trump’s son, Eric Trump, encouraged his followers on social media to buy ether in early February.
President Trump’s own meme coin, which he launched just before taking office and once hit a high of more than $70, dipped below $8 Monday morning.
Stock prices of crypto-focused companies also saw declines in early trading Monday.
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