Bitcoin falls below $90,000 for first time in a month, ether tumbles

Cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether dropped to multi-month lows on Tuesday, caught up in a general cross-market sell-off, and as traders continued to process last week’s hack of $1.5 billion worth of ether from cryptoexchange Bybit.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, dropped as much as 6% to $88,245, its lowest since November, and the first time it has fallen below $90,000 since the middle of January.

No 2. cryptocurrency ether shed as much as 11% at one point to $2,333, its lowest since October.

Bitcoin (BTC) is the first and most widely recognized cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by an anonymous individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a decentralized digital currency that allows for peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries like banks. Bitcoin is based on a decentralized technology called blockchain, which records all transactions made with the currency. With a market capitalization of over $1 trillion, Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in the world.

Ether (ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, which was launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin. While Bitcoin is primarily a digital currency, Ether is both a currency and a fuel for the Ethereum network, which enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). Ether is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a value of over $500 billion. Ethereum’s smart contract functionality has made it a popular platform for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other innovative use cases.

In the crypto world, Bitcoin and Ether are often considered the two most important cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin serving as a store of value and Ether powering the Ethereum ecosystem. They are widely traded on cryptocurrency exchanges and are often used as a benchmark for the overall performance of the crypto market. While other cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin, Ripple, and Solana, have gained popularity, Bitcoin and Ether remain the most well-established and widely recognized players in the crypto space.