Bitcoin plunges 8.4% — five days after hitting record high

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, on Sunday, nosedived from $60,000 to $54,942.

Bitcoin prices had hit an all-time of $63,000 on Tuesday, a day before the listing of Coinbase on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States.

The market-wide crash also saw Ether, the world’s second-largest virtual currency by market value, dropping 6.53 percent to $2,165.91, losing $151.2 from its previous close.

The market loss has resulted in $1.72 billion worth of long positions liquidated in the last hour alone. Expanding this range to a 24-hour shows that 927,000 traders’ positions worth nearly $10 billion were wiped off, with $68.73 million being the largest liquidation so far.

The sudden crash comes after rumours of the United States treasury charging several financial institutions for money laundering using cryptocurrency emerge.

On the flip side, if investors begin to buy the dips, Bitcoin price could turn around and retest the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $57,245.

Due to massive institutional demand, investors could quickly scoop up BTC, which is now selling at a discount.

Cryptocurrency has continued to receive endorsements from top firms and individuals including Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, and Mastercard.

Tesla said it would hold $1.5 billion of the cryptos on its balance sheet. It later announced that bitcoin can now be used as a payment method for its products.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., an American investment banking services holding company, also announced that it will hold, transfer and issue Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for institutional customers.

Goldman Sachs, a multinational investment bank, adopted similar approach saying it will begin to offer investment opportunities in bitcoin and other digital assets.