The crypto market is in meltdown and there is a sea of red on crypto markets after a sudden and sharp selloff.
At the time of writing the entire crypto market is worth US$390.7 billion according to Coin Market Cap, down 8.5% or US$35.7 billion over the last 12 hours.
Here is the current state of play:
The Bitcoin (BTC) price is down 7% over the last 24 hours to US$8,695.40 per coin, reducing its market capitalisation to US$148 billion.
The Ethereum (ETH) price is off 10% since this time yesterday to US$689.80 per token. This has cut Ethereum's market capitalisation to US$68.5 billion.
The Ripple (XRP) price has crashed 15% lower over the last 24 hours to 68 U.S. cents, leaving it with a market capitalisation of US$26.6 billion.
The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) price has plunged almost 17% over the period to US$1,381.36 per token, reducing its market capitalisation to US$23.6 billion.
The EOS (EOS) price is also down almost 17% during the last 24 hours to US$15.08. EOS now has a market capitalisation of US$12.8 billion.
Outside the top five the declines have been just as severe.
Litecoin (LTC) is down 10%, Cardano (ADA) is off 18%, Stellar (XLM) has fallen 17%, IOTA (MIOTA) has tumbled 17.5%, and TRON (TRX) has dropped almost 17%.
What happened?
One potential catalyst for this decline appears to be speculation that South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, UPbit, has been targeted by regulator on charges of fraud.
According to Coin Patrol, prosecutors are believed to be alleging that UPbit has been transferring funds from customer accounts to a separate account belonging to an executive of the company. UPbit has not yet responded to the speculation.
Considering how big the South Korean market is, it comes as little surprise to see the market selloff in a panic today. Traders will be hoping for a rebound in U.S. trade later.
