Why bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies are selling off

The cryptocurrency market’s ongoing selloff intensified on Tuesday as leading currencies such as bitcoin and ether contended with growing investor panic regarding a variety of negative developments.

Bitcoin, the largest and most well-known digital currency, fell about 3 percent, briefly sinking below the $6,000 barrier before rallying in afternoon trading. The popular token has steadily lost value since achieving an all-time high price of more than $19,000 per coin last December.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by value, fell roughly 10 percent to $260.47 as of Tuesday afternoon and is now down more than 30 percent over the last week, according to CoinBase data. The decline coincided with concerns that investors are “cashing out” the digital currency to cover business expenses, Bloomberg reported.

The broader crypto market has shed more than $600 billion in value since February, when rabid growth in leading currencies pushed the industry’s market capitalization to an all-time high of $829 billion. The entire cryptocurrency market was worth about $193 billion as of Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap.

Digital currencies have been under pressure in recent days after the SEC last week delayed a decision on whether to approve the first bitcoin ETF, which would allow investors to back bitcoin without acquiring their own digital tokens. A ruling is now expected to come at the end of September.

Leading currencies have been losing value for months amid growing concerns about potential regulation and the security of digital transactions. A pair of South Korean crypto exchanges experienced data breaches in June.