Crypto crash: markets dive after Biden eyes big tax hike

April 24, 2021 Editor Altcoin 0

Cryptocurrency markets are a sea of red this afternoon, with Bitcoin dropping below $US50,000 and most altcoins suffering double-digit losses after reports that US President Joe Biden would propose big tax hikes on the wealthy.

The US stock market also took a hit, with the S&P500 dropping 0.9 per cent, after Bloomberg News and other outlets reported around 3am AEST that Biden would begin next week pushing the big tax hike, including nearly doubling the capital gain tax on people earning more than $US1 million.

Bitcoin fell steadily from just under $US55,000 to below $US50,000 by lunchtime, briefly falling as far as around $US48,800. At 2.45pm it had been more or less stable for two hours just below $US50,000 ($64,700).

Ethereum was trading at $US2,241 ($2,893), down 7.4 per cent from 24 hours prior.

Last night it had seemed like crypto markets were recovering from Sunday’s sell-off, with Ether pushing through its all-time high around 10pm AEST and hitting a peak of $2,635 around 2.30am. Ethereum fans were even discussing on social media the chances of Ether overtaking Bitcoin to become the No. 1 cryptocurrency.

Losses were nearly across the board, with obscure privacy coin Pirate Coin and Bitcoin Gold the only top 100 assets other than stablecoins not to lose ground over the past 24 hours.

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Dogecoin was the worst-hit crypto in the top 20, falling 28.7 per cent to US20.7 following its recent parabolic rise.

On Crypto Twitter, debate was raging whether the bottom was in or if there was more crypto-carnage to come. There was no clear answer.