Ripple's XRP token followed the broader crypto market lower today, reeling from the latest developments affecting the space.
The digital token declined to as little as $0.7129 today, representing a roughly 81% drop from the all-time high of $3.84 that XRP reached in January, CoinMarketCap data shows.
The XRP token has experienced some sharp volatility over the last several months, surging from less than $0.01 at the start of 2017 to $2.25 at the end of that year, additional CoinMarketCap figures reveal.
[Ed. note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
Multiple Headwinds
Recently, the digital currency markets have been plagued by numerous tumultuous events that have provide headwinds for prices.
"Its one thing after another," said Charles Hayter, co-founder and CEO of data provider CryptoCompare, who mentioned the "negative news" surrounding Bitfinex and Tether, as well as the latest regulatory developments coming out of China.
Charles Thorngren, CEO of Noble Alternative Investments, offered a similar point of view, stating that "XRP is seeing a sell-off from the latest news out of China.
Cryptocurrency Market 'Being Battered'
At this point, the market is being fueled by fear, said Hayter.
"The entire crypto market is being battered," said Jeff Koyen, CEO of 360 Blockchain USA.
However, he emphasized that digital currencies are not the only asset class that is in the red, as stocks have also been experiencing a sell-off.
While some analysts pointed to the recent weakness in cryptocurrencies, others emphasized that these price fluctuations could simply be the typical rise and fall of market prices.
"Markets go up, markets go down," said Gavin Yeung, founder and CEO of digital asset management firm Cryptomover.
Even after the recent sharp losses in digital currencies, their total market capitalization is still where it was late last year, he noted.