Crypto Industry Fears Contagion as Bitcoin Slips Under $20,000

Crypto Industry Fears Contagion as Bitcoin Slips Under $20,000
Representations of the Ripple, bitcoin, etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, on Feb. 14, 2018. Dado Ruvic/Reuters
|Updated:

LONDON/HONG KONG—The cryptocurrency industry was on edge on Monday as bitcoin struggled to stay above a key level, with investors fearing that problems at major crypto players could unleash a wider market shakeout.

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, was trading just under the symbolic level of $20,000 in early London trading hours—roughly the peak of its charge to its previous record in 2017.