Bitcoin loses over a fifth of its value in less than 24 hours

LONDON: Bitcoin slid to as low as $9,000 on Thursday, having lost more than a fifth of its value since hitting an all-time high of $11,395 on Wednesday..

The cryptocurrency fell as much as 8 percent on Thursday on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange to hit $9,000 exactly, marking a fall of well over $2,000 in under 24 hours. It then edged back up to trade at around $9,200 a few minutes later, still down over 6 percent on the day.

The fall tempers an astronomical rise for the cryptocurrency in recent months - bitcoin was up almost 1100 percent year-to-date on Wednesday. As of 1400 GMT on Thursday, it was still up around 850 percent.

Its rapid ascent has prompted warnings from a stream of prominent investors that it had reached bubble territory, while Bank of England deputy governor on Wednesday said investors should "do their homework" before investing in the digital currency.

Its fall on Thursday dragged down the prices of other cryptocurrencies in its wake, with Ethereum, bitcoin`s biggest rival, falling as much as 19 percent on the day, according to trade website Coinmarketcap.

For the month, bitcoin is still on track for a more than 40 percent price increase.