Bitcoin's Price Drops Below $10,000 for First Time Since Early December

The price of bitcoin has fallen below $10,000 for the first time since early December.

According to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), the cryptocurrency's value has hit a low of $9,714.02 as of press time. The last time bitcoin's price was below $10,000 was on Dec. 1, BPI data shows.

As of the time of writing, the price had recovered somewhat, trading at $9,737.20. Market analysis suggests that the price could shift in either direction and recent regulatory developments – out of South Korea and China in particular – could roil markets further, according to some observers.

Bitcoin's come comes amid the backdrop of a wider fall in cryptocurrency markets, a state of affairs which was on full display during yesterday's trading session. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that many of the top cryptocurrencies remain in the red for the past 24 hours, including ether, which has fallen below $900.

By far the worst performer is the BitConnect cryptocurrency, which has plunged more than 90% on news that the company behind is moving to shutter its lending and exchange platform amid a wave of criticism and regulatory scrutiny.

As it stands, the collective market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has dropped more than $200 billion since yesterday.