Islamabad: Bitcoin shed a fifth of its value on Saturday as a combination of profit-taking and macro-economic concerns triggered nearly a billion dollars worth of selling across cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was 12% down at $47,495. It fell as low as $41,967.5 during the session, taking total losses for the day to 22%. The broad selloff in cryptocurrencies also saw ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, plunge more than 10%. Based on cryptocurrency data platform Coingecko, the market capitalisation of the 11,392 coins it tracks dropped nearly 15% to $2.34 trillion. That value had briefly crossed $3 trillion last month, when bitcoin hit a record $69,000. The plunge follows a volatile week for financial markets. Global equities and benchmark US bond yields tumbled on Friday. News Desk
