Cryptomarket loses billions in overnight crash for Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency traders woke up to an unpleasant surprise after Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies fell sharply overnight, with billions worth of value wiped clear.

The price of Bitcoin, the biggest crypto currency, stands at around €41,000, a drop of 30% within just a few weeks’ time. The drop affected other major cryptos, including Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Cardano and Ripple's XRP, which lost almost 10% in just 24 hours.

The hashtag #cryptocrash trended on Twitter on Saturday, with numerous memes referencing the heavy losses suffered by traders.

Memes are trending on twitter following the crash (Photo: twitter)

Bloomberg reported how this turmoil follows a highly volatile period for financial markets in the United States, with spiking inflation forcing central banks to tighten monetary policy, threatening to reduce the liquidity tailwind that lifted a wide range of assets.

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus also led to risk aversion over concerns about what it might mean for global economic reopening.

Cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. They utilise a technology called blockchain, which is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manages and records transactions. Part of the appeal of this technology is its security.

The currencies operate in a highly volatile market, and trading should be backed up by proper due diligence.