Bitcoin Price Falls Below $59K Amid Broad Market Rout; Ether Slumps Almost 10%

Bitcoin hit the lowest price since Aug. 19. It was not immediately clear what sparked the sell-off.

Cryptocurrencies suffered substantial losses as the U.S. business day came to a close, with bitcoin (BTC) tumbling below $59,000 and Ethereum's ether (ETH) losing almost 10%.

Bitcoin had topped $62,700 earlier in the day, but recently was down 6.5% from 24 hours earlier. Amid the rout, it got as low as $58,240, the lowest price since Aug. 19. Ether traded as high as $2,700 earlier Wednesday, but recently fetched less than $2,500