Bitcoin's tumble amid a broad crypto crackdown from China has pushed it below $30,000 for the first time since January, pulverising its entire 2021 gain.

The original cryptocurrency has lost more than 50 per cent from its mid-April high of almost $65,000. That compares with a gain of about 12 per cent for the S&P 500 since the end of December. The coin started 2021 trading around $29,000 following a fourfold increase in 2020.

“Any meaningful break below $30,000 is going to make a lot of momentum players to throw in the towel,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “Therefore, even if Bitcoin is going to change the world over the long-term, it does not mean it cannot fall back into the teens over the short-term.”

Bitcoin dropped to as much as $29,624 on Tuesday, just below last year's closing price of $28,997. Other cryptocurrencies were hit harder, with Dash tumbling 22 per cent, XRP falling 21 per cent and Litecoin stumbling 18 per cent. Among more volatile DeFi tokens, Prude was down 68 per cent and Manyswap tumbled 60 per cent, according to data on CoinMarketCap.com, while a handful of others showed losses of more than 80 per cent. Meanwhile, Coinbase Pro reported having issues trading Polkadot. Chart-watchers said Bitcoin, which failed to retake $40,000 last week, could have a tough time finding support in the $20,000 range following its drop below $30,000.

Still, Bitcoin had prior to Tuesday breached $30,000 during at least five separate instances this year but recuperated to trade above that level each time. negative press about its energy use, brought on largely by Tesla Inc.'s Elon Musk, as well as a clampdown from China have pushed it lower in recent weeks.