Global demand for cryptocurrencies has plunged as the possible collapse of China's second biggest apartment developer, Evergrande, frightens investors.
Bitcoin, the benchmark blockchain denomination, plummeted overnight from $AUD64,700 to four-month low levels below $56,000.
A glut of 'ghost city' apartment towers in China is stirring fears about major economic problems should the conglomerate collapse.
Australia's share market and the big miners aren't the only ones being affected by the fall with the global cryptocurrency market collectively losing $344billion since Monday night, with Ethereum, Tether and Cardano also affected.
Scroll down for video
Global demand for cryptocurrencies has plunged as the possible collapse of China's second biggest apartment developer scares investors (pictured is a stock image of a Bitcoin)
BTC Markets chief executive Caroline Bowler said like traditional share market investors, cryptocurrency buyers were also worried about a slowdown in global economic growth.
'What's happening in China and that sense of contagion is perhaps impacting on to Bitcoin prices,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
'In turn, when Bitcoin goes south, the rest of the cryptocurrencies tend to follow suit with it.'
Adding to fears are rumours cryptocurrency Tether holds substantial reserves of Evergrande corporate debt which it has strenuously denied.
Nonetheless Ms Bowler, who runs a cryptocurrency trading platform, said this had created fear among digital currency investors.
'There is reportedly an exposure from Tether - they have corporate reserves, some of their reserves that they hold for US dollars could potentially be held in Evergrande,' she said.
'That's one of the potential scenarios that's being discussed at the moment in the industry and then there's that knock-on impact if that turns out to be the case.'
More so than
