Cryptocurrency markets plunged following a plummet in oil prices and further sell-off in stocks.
The market capitalization or entire value of cryptocurrencies was down$26.43 billion from a day earlier at around 1:17 p.m. Singapore time, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. The sell-off worsened as the day went on.
Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by value, fell over 10% in 24 hours at around the same time.
The violent sell-off in the cryptocurrency market comes after international oil benchmark Brent crude futures plummeted 30% to $31.02 per barrel, its lowest level since Feb. 2016. That was sparked by Saudi Arabia slashing its official selling prices for oil after OPEC failed to agree on a deal on production cuts. This has led to fears of an oil price war. Brent has since pared some of its losses.
Major Currencies Dip As Volatility Shoots
Major Asia Pacific currencies dropped against the U.S. dollar on Monday morning, as investors took a risk-off approach with volatility across markets shooting up over an oil price war.
The Australian dollar fell as much as 2.60% against the greenback to $0.6476, while the New Zealand dollar tumbled by as much as 2.28% to last change hands at $0.6228.
The Korean won declined more than 1% against the dollar, prompting South Korea’s finance ministry to issue a verbal warning against “excessive” movements in the currency market, according to a Reuters report.
“We’re closely monitoring speculative transactions that seem to be taking advantage of unstable market sentiment. The herd-like behavior (in the won) seems excessive short-term,” a finance ministry official told Reuters. Investors tend to regard phone messages from foreign exchange authorities as official verbal interventions in the onshore currency market, according to Reuters.
