Bitcoin falls below $40k amid global stocks pullback

On Tuesday, Bitcoin along with several other cryptocurrencies printed massive losses, with the total market capitalization of the sector losing nearly $200 billion.

While the flagship cryptocurrency fell below $40,000, many altcoins recorded double-digit losses. Although Bitcoin has reclaimed the $40,000 benchmark, Ethereum is still trading at less than $3,000.

The latest price drop was quite unexpected judging by the position of things over the weekend. Just a few days ago, Bitcoin was above $48,000, an 11-day high. By Monday, the price slumped in a matter of hours to a low of 42,500. It managed to recover to the $44,000 region, but this was short-lived. The bears took hold of the market and sent the price tumbling to below $40,000, its lowest price point since early August. As of press time, Bitcoin had recovered slightly to $42,300.

The market losses are not peculiar to just the crypto space. The US financial markets also saw similar downturns. The S&P 500 closed with a 2% decline, its worst trading day since May even though the futures contracts opened higher yesterday ahead of the next Fed meeting.