The cause of the sudden sell-off wasn't immediately clear, though some have pointed to wider stock market and commodity turmoil in the face of the spreading coronavirus.

On Sunday evening, bitcoin was seen trading as low as $7,684 per bitcoin on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.

On Saturday, bitcoin had looked poised for a rally, climbing as high as $9,192 before beginning it's steady plunge.

Meanwhile, oil prices crashed by 30% yesterday after Opec members, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, failed to agree on deeper production cuts to offset weaker demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak, effectively sparking a price war.

Also Read: Crypto Analysts Say Bitcoin Needs to Break the Key Resistance of $9500 to Start Another Bull Rally

Major U.S. index futures, including the S&P 500, the Dow, and the Nasdaq, all plunged around 5% following the oil cartel's decision.

The latest fall in the bitcoin price will all but destroy any remaining expectation that bitcoin has begun acting as a so-called safe-haven asset, which are expected to move higher in times of greater risk and uncertainty.

"Bitcoin is down 8% in the last day, much more than global equities," Nobel prize-winning economist and outspoken bitcoin critic, Nouriel Roubini, said last night via Twitter.

"Another proof that bitcoin is not a good hedge versus risky assets in risk-off episodes. It actually falls more than risky assets during risk-off."

Some bitcoin and cryptocurrency watchers tried to downplay the crypto market meltdown, urging bitcoin investors to take a long-term view.

Also Read: Much Awaited Bitcoin Event, Bitcoin 2020, Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak

The bitcoin price had looked on the verge of a recovery before going into meltdown over the weekend. ... [+]

Coinbase

"For those who have long term investment horizons, bitcoin is absolutely a buy during these dips," Jehan Chu, co-founder of blockchain startup investor Kenetic Capital, told CNBC.

"We can expect more of this volatility sparked by macro health and financial shocks, but ultimately long term investments in the digital future, and it's key asset bitcoin, will be a winning strategy."

Bitcoin has been battling against falling trading volumes and stalled adoption in recent months—but that's not stopped some from betting big on the number one cryptocurrency.

However, the bitcoin community was last week rocked by a warning from the chief executive of the largest U.S. bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase that it might not be bitcoin that pushes the cryptocurrency ecosystem "from [around] 50 million users to 5 billion."

Also Read: Analyst Who Predicted Bitcoin’s Rally to $9,000 Says Ethereum Is Preparing to Explode