London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Mar 09, 2026

Two-day bitcoin sell-off wipes out over $100 billion from the entire crypto market

Two-day bitcoin sell-off wipes out over $100 billion from the entire crypto market

The price of bitcoin slipped 10% in two days to fall below the $32,000 level for the first time since Jan. 11.


Bitcoin slumped for a second day Thursday, taking the digital currency’s losses to more than 10% over 48 hours and wiping off billions of dollars from the crypto market.

The price of bitcoin slipped 8% on Thursday to as low as $31,007, falling below the $32,000 level for the first time since Jan. 11, according to data from industry website CoinDesk.

The world’s most valuable digital coin has had a wild few weeks, briefly hitting $41,940 earlier this month before sinking sharply the subsequent week. The reason for its latest move wasn’t immediately clear, but investors told CNBC it is likely a natural correction.

“Corrections are a natural part of any market and are especially natural in the bitcoin ecosystem,” Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, told CNBC. “From 2016-2017, we experienced 6 corrections of approximately 30% or more on the way to new highs.”

Ether, the second-biggest crypto token by market value, was down almost 9% in the last 24 hours at a price of $1,182. The coin hit an all-time high of $1,439 on Tuesday, according to Coin Metrics data.

The total market value of all cryptocurrencies shed more than $100 billion in the last 48 hours, falling from about $1.07 trillion to $918 billion as of 11:45 a.m. ET.

“I think you’ve got to accept there’s a tremendous amount of volatility in bitcoin, and it’s still very early stages,” Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, told CNBC in a phone interview.

“Imagine Amazon, and Jeff Bezos and a few venture capitalists are still holding most of Amazon, and the company is experiencing explosive growth, exponential activity,” the former White House communications director added.

“If you look at Amazon in the first 3 years, you saw 50% drops in price. Bitcoin’s moves are akin to that because you’ve got close holders of bitcoin that are releasing bitcoin to the marketplace and the buying stability is shoring up. But it’s still not 100% there.”


Bitcoin’s latest price movement comes after the new U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, warned about cryptocurrencies being used “mainly for illicit financing.” The former Federal Reserve chairman said the government would “need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that money laundering doesn’t occur through those channels.”

The plunge also comes despite seemingly positive news for bitcoin, which is still up over 140% in the last three months. On Wednesday, asset manager BlackRock — which has $7.8 trillion in assets under management — filed separate prospectuses for two funds that may buy bitcoin futures contracts, in the biggest sign yet that institutional investors are flocking to the virtual currency.

Bitcoin bulls say the main reason for bitcoin’s upward momentum over recent months has been the rise of institutional demand for the cryptocurrency. Big-name investors like Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller have come out as bitcoin believers, while some asset managers are starting to add it to their portfolios.

“Who’s to say whether we’ve seen the bottom of the correction, but at Grayscale we know that there continues to be a flurry of demand, especially from institutional investors who have longer term holding preferences,” Sonnenshein said.

Scaramucci said Skybridge’s bitcoin-focused fund, which launched earlier this month, initially invested $25 million and that has since risen to over $60 million already. Skybridge’s clients are mainly high-net-worth individuals, he added.

The cryptocurrency’s remarkable surge has also been fueled in part by a narrative that it offers a store of value akin to gold in times of unprecedented economic stimulus, which some investors fear will cause a spike in inflation.

However, skeptics worry that bitcoin is just another market bubble waiting to burst. The cryptocurrency is known for its volatility — it skyrocketed close to $20,000 in late 2017 before plunging the following year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Roman Abramovich Signals Legal Fight if UK Seeks to Seize Chelsea Sale Funds
UK Ready to Back Emergency Oil Reserve Release as Middle East Conflict Pushes Prices Higher
Study of 40,000 Articles Sparks Debate Over Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias in UK Media
US and UK Army Chiefs Strengthen Cooperation on the Future of Armored Warfare
Britain’s Search for the Next ARM Intensifies as Startups and Investors Target the Semiconductor Frontier
Three US Strategic Bombers Arrive at RAF Fairford as Iran Conflict Intensifies
Cancer Death Rates in the UK Fall to the Lowest Level on Record
UK Government Bond Yields Retreat Slightly After Sharp Spike Triggered by Middle East Conflict
UK Chancellor Warns Middle East War Could Push Inflation Higher
UK Prime Minister Warns Iran Conflict Could Drive Up Prices and Threaten Economic Stability
Trump Declines UK Offer to Deploy Aircraft Carriers to Middle East Amid Iran Conflict
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Return to Australia After Seven Years for Philanthropic and Business Engagements
UK Government Signals Independence From Washington as Cooper Says Britain Does Not Agree With Trump on Every Issue
UK Experts Warn AI Chatbots Are Fueling Surge in Claims of Organised ‘Satanic’ Ritual Abuse
UK Political Parties Divided Over Strategy as Iran Conflict Reshapes Foreign Policy Debate
Britain Discloses Secret Military Repair Hubs Operating Inside Ukraine
Trump Says US No Longer Needs UK Carrier Support After Delayed Offer Amid Iran Conflict
Why Britain Has Become Involved in the US-Israel Military Campaign Against Iran
UK Gas Storage Falls to Under Two Days as Iran Conflict Jolts Global Energy Markets
UK Warned to Brace for Economic Shock as Iran War Drives Global Energy Price Surge
Starmer and Trump Hold First Call After Public Dispute Over Iran Conflict
UK Dentists Returned £1.3 Billion to Government as Shift Toward Private Care Accelerates
Expert Warns UK Must Build Emergency Food Stockpiles to Prepare for Climate Shocks or War
UK Plans Charter Flight to Evacuate British Nationals from Gulf as Regional Conflict Disrupts Air Travel
Families of Zimbabwe’s Liberation Fighters Call on Britain to Help Locate Skulls Taken During Colonial War
Iran’s Ambassador Warns Britain to ‘Be Very Careful’ Over Deeper Role in Expanding Middle East War
UK Military Leadership Defends Britain’s Defensive Role in Expanding Middle East Conflict
Four U.S. Strategic Bombers Arrive in Britain as Iran War Intensifies
Soham Murderer Ian Huntley Dies After Violent Attack in High-Security Prison
UK Lawmakers and Experts Condemn Scale of Overseas Human Remains Held in British Museums
Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Placed on Standby for Potential Deployment
United Kingdom Confirms U.S. Military Using British Bases for Operations Targeting Iranian Missile Sites
Starmer Defends UK Role in Iran Conflict After Renewed Criticism from President Trump
Blue Owl Reveals £36 Million Exposure After Collapse of UK Lender Serving Wealthy Clients
UK Asylum Reform Plan Triggers Fierce Debate Over Border Control and Humanitarian Impact
US Stealth Bombers Head to UK Base as Trump Issues Stark Warning to Iran
UK Deputy Prime Minister Says Legal Case Could Exist for British Strikes on Iranian Missile Sites
Investigators Link Mysterious Parcel Fires Across Europe to Russian Intelligence Operation
Debate Intensifies Over Britain’s Legal Justification for US Military Operations Launched From UK Bases
Britain Faces Heightened Energy Price Risks as Iran-Linked Tensions Threaten Global Oil and Gas Supplies
British Counter-Terror Police Arrest Four Suspected of Spying on Jewish Community for Iran
Axel Springer Agrees $770 Million Deal to Acquire Britain’s Daily Telegraph
Iceland Supermarket Drops Trademark Challenge Against Icelandic Government in Long-Running Naming Dispute
UK Defence Secretary Visits Cyprus Following Scrutiny of Britain’s Response to Drone Attacks
Questions Grow Over Britain’s Military Readiness as Response to Iran Conflict Draws Scrutiny
UK Offers Failed Asylum Seeker Families Up to Forty Thousand Pounds to Leave Voluntarily
Saharan Dust Could Bring ‘Blood Rain’ to Parts of the UK as Weather Systems Shift
UK Deploys Additional Typhoon Fighter Jets to Qatar and Helicopters to Cyprus Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
Experts Urge Britain to Accelerate Renewable Energy Push as Global Conflicts Drive Up Costs
British Public Shows Strong Reluctance to Join Wider War in Iran
×