Bitcoin Leads Crypto Losses

Major cryptocurrencies retreated amid concerns about the Omicron variant and holiday travel disruptions worldwide.

Bitcoin traded 7.4% lower from 24 hours ago at around USD 47,849. The cryptocurrency was down more than 30% from its record highs at USD 68,990 in November. Bitcoin has had a volatile end of year.

Ether declined 7.6% over the past 24 hours, recently trading at USD 3,801. It was down more than 20% from its record high of USD 4,866 in November.

For smaller tokens, Terra’s LUNA dropped 8.9% to about USD 86, while Polkadot went down 13% to around USD 28. Meme coin Dogecoin traded 9% lower at around USD 0.17.

Shares of crypto trading platform Coinbase Global were dealt a hit Tuesday after cryptocurrencies slumped. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by volume, dropped 7.8% to $47,873. Ethereum was down 7.6%, Cardano declined 9.9%, and Terra was down 10.3%.