At the auction on Friday, the first cryptocurrency shows a sharp decline against the backdrop of a global fall in world stock markets.

So, in the morning, the price of digital gold reached $57,647, and after lunch it broke through the $55,000 mark, losing more than 7% and updating the minimum value level for a month and a half. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $54,000. The total capitalization of the crypto market is $2.56 trillion, and the BTC indicator in it is $1.03 trillion.

Leading altcoins instantly picked up the trend of the main digital coin and sank by more than 10%.

The virtual asset market is falling against the backdrop of an active decline in securities, oil, and other risky assets. The reason for the concern of world markets was the news that the World Health Organization (WHO) has scheduled an emergency meeting due to the identification of the South African strain of coronavirus.

Recall that on the eve of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases told about a new strain of COVID-19, first identified in South Africa and Botswana.

The new strain is spreading faster than previously identified, and is also more contagious and less susceptible to existing vaccines.

Against the background of this statement, Israel and the United Kingdom stopped air traffic with some African countries. All world markets reacted instantly to the frightening news from South Africa. Thus, the European STOXX Europe 600 index instantly lost 3.88%, the Chinese CSI 300 sank by 0.74%, the futures for the S&P 500 index fell by 1.82%, and the Moscow Stock Exchange index fell by 2.94%.

The concern of market participants continues to grow due to fears of the approach of a new large-scale wave of coronavirus. At the same time, hopes for a rapid economic recovery are becoming less and less achievable, since the message about the new COVID-19 strain appeared against the background of an already unstable epidemiological situation in the world

Crypto market analysts warn that today, in conditions of increased market volatility, investors in digital assets should be extremely careful. Historically, Bitcoin becomes as vulnerable as possible before exiting risky assets when the sale concerns everything, despite the prospects.