The losses come as the two main digital currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have taken heavy losses, dropping 5.9% to $18,720 and 9.2% to $1,514 respectively. This is a huge drop from Bitcoin’s all time high of $69,000 (£60,000), losing about 72% of its value, The Times reports.

The drop comes ahead of Ethereum’s highly anticipated ‘merge’, when the cryptocurrency’s network will switch over to and begin using a new transaction verification method on its blockchain - the digital ledger for all transactions. Although the network change is expected to be highly positive, bringing an estimated 99.95% reduction in energy usage, investors are worried about how smoothly the switch will go.

On the other hand, the Bitcoin network is very energy intensive, accounting for an estimated 0.42% of global energy usage. Some speculate that Ethereum could be in a position to overtake Bitcoin once it solidifies its position as a more eco-friendly alternative.