Bitcoin has dipped below the psychological benchmark of US$30,000, well below the $69,000 high set just last November.

This is the lowest it has been since July 2021, and it has led to drops across most of the leading cryptocurrencies.

More than half a billion (A$576b) has been wiped from the combined crypto market since Friday, with the likes of Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Solana, Cardano, and a number of other coins plunging along with Bitcoin, and the general share market.

Ethereum saw a whopping 17 per cent shaved of its value overnight, and has seen a third of its value lost this year alone.

Bitcoin “has been a victim of its own success,” according to Simon Peters, market analyst for investment platform eToro.

“The market is now moving more closely with other major risk assets such as tech and other stocks. This is indicative of the major shift in the presence of institutions within the cryptoasset market, which now account for a much greater proportion of ownership and tend to bundle their decision-making on crypto with other major assets.”