A photo illustration of the digital cryptocurrency, Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) is seen on September 13, 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Yu Chun Christopher Wong | S3studio | fake images
Bitcoin prices fell sharply on Thursday night, while ether prices also tanked on Thursday night, wiping out almost $150 billion from the crypto market.
Bitcoin it plunged more than 7% in the past 24 hours and was trading at $38,5774 as of 11:19 p.m. ET, according to data from CoinDesk.
Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, sank 8% in the last 24 hours. It was trading at $2,860 at 11:20 p.m. ET, after falling as low as $2,809.51 in the last 24 hours, according to CoinDesk.
About $147 billion was wiped out of the entire cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.com
The declines in cryptocurrencies follow Wall Street's losses on Thursday. The Nasdaq is down almost 5% this week, and the S&P 500 is in its third straight week of losses.
As the 10-year US Treasury yield soared earlier this week, rising rates have caused investors to unload their positions in riskier assets. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.
The Federal Reserve has also indicated that it plans to start reducing its balance sheet, as well as gradually reduce bonds and raise interest rates.
A common investment case for bitcoin is that it serves as a hedge against rising inflation as a result of government stimulus, but analysts say the risk is that a more aggressive Federal Reserve can take the wind out of the bitcoin sails.
However, as yields pulled back later in the week, FX trading firm Oanda Senior Market Analyst Edward Moya said it was โa bit disappointing not to see Bitcoin react more positively to the reversal of Treasury yields".
Bitcoin prices have fallen dramatically since November, falling more than 40% from an all-time high of around $69,000.
Some experts warn that the crypto market could be heading for a recession soon as increased regulatory scrutiny Y sharp price fluctuations dampened bitcoin's outlook.
Regulators are also cracking down on cryptocurrencies. China Completely ban all activities related to cryptocurrencies. and the US authorities too taking drastic measures on certain aspects of the market.
In a note on Thursday, Moya de Oanda had predicted that bitcoin could fall below $40,000 as Russia's central bank had proposed to ban the use and mining of cryptocurrencies on Russian territory, claiming that the digital currency represents a risk to "financial stability and the sovereignty of monetary policy". "
Russia is among the top three countries for bitcoin mining, he noted.
โ CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this report.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that bitcoin's all-time high in November was approximately $69,000.
