For those not in the know, a cryptocurrency is simply a digital asset (also classified as a subset of alternative currencies and virtual currencies) that works as a medium of exchange, while cryptography is used to secure the transactions and to control the creation of additional units of the currency.
And the market for cryptocurrency became hugely profitable as a result of Bitcoin growth, been the first decentralized cryptocurrency, launched in 2009.
Now, after years of unprecedented appreciation, the market as a whole lost 20% in just two days as it crashes to $142 billion, down from a total market cap of about $180 billion last weekend.
While the crash is enough to make a noticeable dent on the all-time cryptocurrency market chart, it still leaves Bitcoin at double the price it was just four months ago.
But a quick glance at coinmarketcap.com shows how bad things have become, with Bitcoin down 16.5% over the last few days and Ethereum by 23.5%.
The drop is obviously as the result of Chinese government outlaw of ICOs, which had “seriously disrupted the economic and financial order” of cryptocurrency.
Chinese government ordered all ICOs to return funds to investors, which resulted uncertainty as to what will happen to the price of mainstay currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum with smaller tokens received in ICOs re-converted.
Imagine waiting on the sidelines for months as the market appreciated, then putting your capital chunk into cryptocurrency 48 hours ago, and have it all sunk?
