Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) has slumped to its lowest levels in two months, and has lost more than $72 billion in market cap this year, Business Insider reports.
Bitcoin is nearing the level of $9,000, less than half its all-time high of $19,843 set in December.
Ethereum (ETH/USD) was the only major coin to finish January in the green. The second-largest cryptocurrency saw gains of 45% during 2018’s first month, compared to a loss of 25% for Bitcoin, and respective declines of 45% and 35% for Ripple’s XRP and Bitcoin Cash (EXANTE: Bitcoin.Cash).
"Lots of news regarding regulation is causing the market to panic," Nick Kirk, quantitative developer and data scientist at Cypher Capital, a cryptocurrency trading firm, told CNBC.
Thursday's drop comes as India announced India vowedto eliminate the use of cryptocurrencies.
Fundstrat's Tom Lee, the only major Wall Street strategist to issue formal price targets on Bitcoin, said two weeks ago that $9,000 is a "major low" for bitcoin and "the biggest buying opportunity in 2018."