Bitcoin dropped 6.7% Friday on reports of the aggressive new coronavirus variant from southern Africa, the spread of which threatens to bring the global economy to a halt.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading around $54,000 per coin, just a day after investors saw it set for a renewed breakout level above $60,000.
Alternative crypto tokens also tumbled, with ethereum losing nearly 6% by 10:20 GMT, while Solana, XPR, Polkadot and other most-traded coins also trading in the red.
The crypto market followed the plunge of the global equity markets in the wake of reports of the new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant first detected in Botswana, then South Africa, Israel and Hong Kong.
Amid growing fears that the world may have to reintroduce economically-painful lockdown restrictions, investors are scrambling to find low-risk assets.
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