Bitcoin plunges more than 20% to below $7500

The decline coincided with a selloff in financial markets

Bitcoin is now down more than 50 per cent this year. Mary Turner/Bloomberg

Bitcoin fell to a six-week low, as selloff that began in early May dropped the cryptocurrency’s price below $7,500 for the first time since mid-April.

Bitcoin slumped 7.3 per cent to $7,495 as of 1:57 p.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg composite pricing. It’s now down more than 20 per cent since a May 4 peak.

Wednesday’s decline came after OKEx, the most active fee-charging exchange over the past day, suspended withdrawals and fiat trading to fix an error that was leading to inaccurate account balances, according to a statement on its website.

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The latest hiccup come as the world’s most valuable digital coin is mired in a slump amid growing regulatory scrutiny even after last week’s Consensus confab put the community’s optimism and excess in full display.

The declines on Wednesday also coincided with a selloff in financial markets, with stocks and commodities falling on fading optimism over the US’s talks with North Korea and China. Ethereum was also down 5 per cent on Wednesday, while Bitcoin Cash fell 9 per cent.