The top 10 cryptocurrencies are all plunging in a big sell-off

Markets Insider

• The 10 biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation are falling on Tuesday morning.
• Declining Japanese and South Korean trading volumes blamed for spooking the market.
• Cryptocurrencies surged in 2017 but have been marked by volatility so far this year.
• Meanwhile, independent financial advisor deVere plans to launch a crypto app.

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LONDON — All of the 10 biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation are plunging on Tuesday morning, with most suffering double-digit percentage losses.

Bitcoin fell as much as 14% in early trade, breaking through both $13,000 and $12,000 levels, but has recovered slightly since then. The decline appears to have spooked the market, with other coins selling off in at the same time.

Here's the scoreboard as of 8.45 a.m. GMT (3.45 a.m. ET) and per Markets Insider:

1. Bitcoin is down 11.3% against the dollar to $12,082.79;
2. Ethereum is down 11% against the dollar to $1,131.61;
3. Ripple is down 15.8% to $1.39;
4. Bitcoin Cash is down 6% to $199.45;
5. Cardano is down 14.1% to $0.69;
6. Litecoin is down 10.3% to $207.83;
7. Neo is down 14.3% to $160.37;
8. Nem is down 13% to $1.27;
9. Stellar is down 16.4% to $0.51;
10. IOTA is down 11.8% to $3.21.

Cryptocurrencies have experienced a volatile start to 2018 after an huge rally last year.

Increased regulatory scrutiny from South Korea has dampened sentiment in the sector. Mati Greenspan, an analyst at trading platform eToro, said declining volumes from Japan and South Korea appeared to be behind Tuesday morning's sell-off.

Crypto prices in these markets typically carry a premium, which pushes up average prices globally.

"The volumes have been declining steadily both in Japan and South Korea over the last few days," Greenspan told Business Insider. "This morning, the combined volume from these two top cryptotrading countries dropped below 30%. Looks like they're tired of overpaying for cryptos and waiting for the market to even out."

Neil Wilson, a senior analyst at ETX Capital, said in an email on Tuesday morning: "Bitcoin faces a regulatory crunch sooner or later and increasingly we see signs of this starting to bite following South Korea’s tentative plans to ban trading on cryptocurrencies and China’s move to shutter mines. Latest developments suggest more regulatory pressures.

"China is said to be targeting websites and mobile apps that offer exchange-like services, in a bid to block access to platforms that deliver centralised trading on cryptocurrencies. In addition to developments in China, South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon reiterated on Tuesday that the government is actively considering an outright ban on crypto trading."

Elsewhere in the cryptocurrency space, deVere Group, an independent financial advisor with $12 billion under advisement, announced plans to launch its own cryptocurrency app. DeVere Crypto will let people store, transfer and exchange five major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum.

DeVere's CEO and founder Nigel Green said in a statement: "Traditionalists who declare cryptocurrencies ‘a fad’ are akin to King Canute trying to command the tides of the sea to go back.

"DeVere Crypto is designed to meet the growing need and want to store and transfer cryptocurrencies. It’s meeting the evident demand."

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