Bitcoin Falls To Nearly $40K

Bitcoin's 2021 bull run ended in June when Chinese regulators cracked down on cryptocurrency miners. Bitcoin, Ether, and almost all other cryptocurrencies experienced a sharp decline on Monday night, and it again appears tied to activity in China, though of a different kind this time. Bitcoin's price dropped over 11% from Monday to Tuesday, sitting at just over $41,600 Tuesday evening. Bitcoin's all-time high was $64,863, hit on April 14. It hasn’t dropped below $40,000 since early August. Ether and Dogecoin also expected drops this week. Being a decentralized system, it's often hard to say precisely what causes the cryptocurrency markets to crash. Monday's price action is thought to be connected with China's property market and particularly the Chinese company Evergrande Group ($EGRNF@China). Evergrande is the world's most indebted real-estate company, with over $300 billion in liabilities, and markets around the world have dipped out of fears that China will allow Evergrande to default on those debts. If Evergrande defaults, it could dramatically affect China's entire economy, which could, in turn, affect countries around the globe. The collapse of Evergrande has been likened to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy that preceded the Global Financial Crisis, though its impact is unlikely to be as fierce. Evergrande's stock has fallen 85% in the past year, and its offices throughout China have seen protests from employees, builders, and homeowners.