Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to slump as concerns about the US debt ceiling weigh heavily on crypto.
The largest coin by market cap, Bitcoin, shed 1.8% to US$26,222. The digital token briefly hit US$26,107, which marked its lowest point in over two months.
Ethereum, on the other hand, fell by over 2% to US$1,782 and is also trading close to two-month lows.
Global markets took a whack as the debt ceiling deadline approaches with no resolution in sight, hitting sentiment in crypto.
“I think that the uncertainty around the US debt ceiling talks and the hawkish Fed minutes weigh on risk appetite and cryptocurrencies are suffering as the rest of the risk assets,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.
“What's interesting is, normally during times of global stress, Bitcoin gains field against Ethereum. This is not the case at the moment. To me, it means that the stress level in the cryptocurrency market remains bearable,” she added.
Ozkardeskaya believes however that, once the risks are cleared, Bitcoin could go on a relief rally.
Among the altcoins, XRP lost 2% to US$0.4503, Cardano lost 3% to US$0.357 and Litecoin lost 2.4% to US$84.22.