Bitcoin plunges below $12,000 on Coinbase as rout accelerates; now down 40 percent from record

Bitcoin plunged at the end of a rocky week, taking the digital currency briefly below $11,000 and down 44 percent from its record high hit Sunday.

Bitcoin had rallied to a record high above $19,800 on Sunday and was trading near $15,500 for much of Thursday New York time, according to Coinbase. But an afternoon selloff accelerated into the night, and bitcoin dropped 30.2 percent Friday morning to a low of $10,400 on Coinbase.

At its lows, bitcoin had fallen 47 percent in just five days and lost about $9,400. The digital currency erased more than $1,000 in one hour alone Friday morning.

Bitcoin one-hour performance

Source: Coinbase

Bitcoin futures also tumbled Friday. The CME bitcoin futures expiring in January, which launched Sunday, reached “limit down,” falling nearly 20 percent to $12,265 in morning trading. Markets were still open for trading.