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Ethereum, the second largest digital currency, dropped by 9.78 percent over the last 24 hours, falling to $621 at 7.05pm on March 14 after opening at $690.83. At 9.04am, the token fell further and exchanged hands at £438.37 ($611.90), down 0.51 percent on opening today. The value of the cryptocurrency has plummeted by 16.77 percent in the last week, when Ethereum was trading at $745.19 on March 7. The current slump is being felt across all cryptocurrency markets, amid the threat of regulation.

Why is Ethereum dropping today? Ethereum, along with all other cryptocurrencies, is currently in the red. The crypto market is currently being battered by warnings about its volatility with warnings that the bubble is about to burst, following a bad week. Last Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vowed to regulate cryptocurrencies at the same time that traders were rattled by claims of hacking in the market. And a sell-off of crypto assets by a Japanese bitcoin holder known as the ‘Tokyo Whale’ - added to chaos in the crypto world.

GETTY Ethereum price: Why is it dropping?

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, and chief executive officer at Consensus, said it is "hard to tell" whether the cryptocurrency has lost its appeal but rejected claims that the bitcoin bubble has "burst". Speaking on Bloomberg News, Mr Lubin said: "We are so focused on building decentralised applications on the ethereum platform where we are so much less focussed on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. “Consider ether to be a crypto fuel that powers applications on the decentralised worldwide web. “But I would argue that we’ve seen a correction in our space but calling the bubble to have been popped is a little shortsighted.

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Ramesh Upadhyay wrote: “In the past four days, Ethereum failed to break out of the tight range of $745 to $654. Today, March 14, the bears are attempting to break down of the range. “If successful, the ETH/USD pair can decline to the next support level of $565.54. Below this, the next support lies at $500. “The downtrend is intact as the price continues to trade below both moving averages and inside the descending channel. “Unless the bulls engineer a quick turnaround, the cryptocurrency will continue plunging.”

GETTY Ethereum price: All the cryptocurrencies are in the red

GETTY Ethereum price: Bitcoin is also down today