Cryptocurrencies extend the rout, Bitcoin down -11%

Having witnessed the biggest daily sell-off in four months, Bitcoin, the biggest and most traded cryptocurrency, extended losses by another 11% so far this Wednesday. The prices dipped briefly below the $ 10k mark in early Asia to refresh monthly lows at $ 9949, before finding some support to head back above $ 10500 levels.

 Most of its best known counterparts also extended yesterday’s selling spiral, with Ethereum down 13%, Ripple losing 19% and Bitcoin cash down 12% on the day, according to the CoinMarketCap data.

The declines gathered momentum for the second straight session, as markets remain wary over the regulatory measures likely to be introduced by the Asian regulators, especially the South Korean and Chinese, to curb the speculation seen in the virtual currencies space.

On Wednesday, the China Securities Times quoted unnamed government sources, citing that the Chinese authorities are targeting crypto trading platforms in a further crackdown on cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Finance Minister said on Tuesday that banning trading in cryptocurrencies was still an option.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market cap continues to get eroded, now seen at $ 503 billion versus yesterday’s $561.92 billion. More than $200 billion has been wiped off the value of global cryptocurrencies over the last two trading sessions.