The crypto selloff has continued overnight with heavy declines being seen across the market once again.
This has reduced the entire value of the market down to US$267.9 billion according to Coin Market Cap, down 5% since this time yesterday.
Cryptocurrencies have come under significant pressure after researchers at the University of Texas found that the Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency was used to artificially inflate the prices of fellow coins through the popular Bitfinex exchange.
According to the New York Times, the study found that "half of the increase in Bitcoin's price in 2017 could be traced to the hours immediately after Tether flowed to a handful of other exchanges, generally when the price was declining."
Here is the state of play in the industry on Thursday morning:
The Bitcoin (BTC) price is down 4.4% since this time yesterday to US$6,296.58 per coin, reducing the world's largest cryptocurrency's market capitalisation to US$107.6 billion.
The Ethereum (ETH) price is off 5.1% during the period to US$469.33 per token. This leaves ETH with a market capitalisation of just under US$47 billion.
The Ripple (XRP) price has fallen 7% over the last 24 hours to 52.2 U.S. cents, leaving XRP with a market capitalisation of US$20.5 billion.
The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) price has tumbled 5.1% since this time yesterday to US$826.77. This reduces the Bitcoin offshoot's market capitalisation to US$14.2 billion.
The EOS (EOS) price has fallen 1.4% over the last 24 hours to US$10.13 per token. EOS now has a market capitalisation of US$9 billion.
The declines were just as heavy outside the top five. During the period the Litecoin (LTC) price fell 7.8%, the Stellar (XLM) price dropped 5.4%, the Cardano (ADA) price was 5.3% lower, IOTA (MIOTA) fell 7.7%, and TRON (TRX) was down 7.3%.
Considering how poor sentiment is right now after this latest controversy, I wouldn't be surprised to see further declines in prices over the coming days. As a result, I would suggest investors stay well clear of cryptocurrencies and focus on other investment opportunities.
