Today was supposed to be a momentous day for popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). And I suppose it was, but not for the reason everyone thought. Today, El Salvador officially made Bitcoin legal tender, causing many to think the price would spike. Instead, the price of Bitcoin cratered from around $51,000 to below $43,000 in a matter of hours.
Bitcoin’s drop brought down the entire cryptocurrency space, including stocks like cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), cryptocurrency mining companies like Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT), and funds that track cryptocurrencies like Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC:GBTC). As of 3:30 p.m. EDT, these stocks were down 4%, 8%, 7%, and 5% respectively.
