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Fintech

Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies crash as exchanges suffer outages under intense activity

The token is still up around 270% this year — but far below its April year-to-date high of 568%

Coinbase's website crashed as cryptocurrencies struggled to stabilise amid peak trading activity
Coinbase's website crashed as cryptocurrencies struggled to stabilise amid peak trading activity Photo: Emily Nicolle

The prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies went into near-freefall as online exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance weathered outages and halted trades, following a mass sell-off in the sector.

Bitcoin fell as much as 30% in afternoon trading on 19 May, while ether dropped similarly, wiping billions of dollars off their market capitalisations. Smaller coins also fared negatively, with bitcoin cash, stellar, EOS and litecoin all dropping more than 40% by 2pm BST.

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