A visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency bitcoin. Yu Chun Christopher Wong | S3studio | Getty Images

The cryptocurrency rally is on hold, at least for this week. Bitcoin prices continued their sell-off early Thursday, following a report that Goldman Sachs was dropping its plans for opening a trading desk for cryptocurrencies. The world's largest digital currency fell about 10 percent to a low of $6,279.08 as of 12:15 p.m. ET, according to data from CoinDesk. Bitcoin has lost roughly $1,000 of its value in the past 48 hours. The price of other cryptocurrencies also plunged, according to industry tracking site CoinMarketCap.com. The price of ether fell 13 percent, XRP was down by 6 percent, and bitcoin cash dropped by 12 percent over a 24-hour period. Digital currencies often move in lockstep with bitcoin, which accounts for more than half of the digital currency market.

Those prices began slipping Wednesday following a Business Insider report, which cited people familiar with the issue saying Goldman Sachs was pulling plans to launch cryptocurrency trading, and continues to see uncertainty in the regulatory landscape. In October of 2017, the Wall Street giant had said it was looking into the possibility of launching a new trading operation focused on bitcoin and other digital currencies. In October of 2017, Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs' outgoing CEO, had tweeted that the bank was "still thinking about bitcoin." "Once the market sees Goldman stepping back and being patient, it starts to wonder 'what does Goldman know that I don't know'?" said Kyle Chapman, an analyst at venture capital firm Cosimo Ventures. "The market has trepidation about impending regulatory decisions." More bearish news for cryptocurrencies came late last month when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission once again rejected proposals for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund as it continued to voice concern over fraud and possible manipulation in bitcoin markets. In bids to attract institutional investors, multiple groups have attempted to obtain SEC approval for cryptocurrency-focused exchange-traded funds.